College students, tattooing, and the health belief model: Extending social psychological perspectives on youth culture and deviance

Jerome R. Koch, Alden E. Roberts, Julie Harms Cannon, Myrna L. Armstrong, Donna C. Owen

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

This research extends social psychological models which have previously been used to explain tattooing behavior. We apply the Health Belief Model to the decision-making process by which young adults express interest in or obtain a tattoo. We examine the five components of the Health Belief Model with regard to the likelihood of being tattooed, being interested in tattoos, or obtaining a (or another) tattoo. Survey data were gathered from 520 undergraduate students at a large, public university in the southwest. Their responses show the Health Belief Model to be a significant predictor of this behavior among the students in our sample.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)79-102
Number of pages24
JournalSociological Spectrum
Volume25
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2005

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