Risk behaviors in university students: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Risk behaviors associated with university students have become relevant, since it has been observed that the adoption of these practices can cause harmful consequences for physical and mental health, therefore, the need to implement prevention strategies. In this sense, Nursing plays a fundamental role since, as health promoters, they are in charge of emphasizing the need for self-care. Objective: Analyze the scientific evidence on risk behaviors in university students Methodology: A bibliographic review was carried out in order to carry out a descriptive análisis, with that in mind chosen sources were: LATINDEX, Google Scholar, Dialnet, Scielo, Scopus, Redalyc, as well as other national or international sources were selected. Results: Seventeen articles were found which indicate that the main risk behaviors in university students are: smoking, alcoholism, risky sexual practices, eating and sleeping disorders. Conclusions: Given the nature of these behaviors, it is necessary to implement prevention policies and programs, which are managed based on multidisciplinary work, and which should be applied to the different social scenarios. However, educational institutions are also co-responsible and therefore, this space must be a priority for raising awareness of the aforementioned problem.