Instrument: the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II) was used to assess Jordanian university students’ health-promoting behaviors. The HPLP II was developed by Walker, Sechrist, and Pender [2]. The 52-item summated behavior rating scale employs a 4-point response format (never, sometimes, often, routinely) to measure the frequency of self-reported health-promoting behaviors in the domains of health responsibility,
physical activity, nutrition, spiritual growth, interpersonal relations and stress management. An example of a
health responsibility item was “read or watch TV programs about improving health”; an example of a physical
activity item was “take part in light to moderate physical activity (such as sustained walking 30 - 40 minutes 5
or more times a week)”; an example of a nutrition item was “choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol”; an example of a spiritual growth item was “feel I am growing and changing in positive ways”; an example of an interpersonal relations item was “discuss my problems and concerns with people close to me”; and an
example of stress management item was “take some time for relaxation each day”. The Arabic version of HPLP
II was used. The reliability and validity of the Arabic version was established by previous studies conducted by
Haddad et al. [23]. In the current study the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.90 for the total scale and ranged
from 0.61 to 0.80 for the subscales. A composite score was obtained as well as individual subscale scores. Demographic characteristics were obtained from participants through a questionnaire that was developed by the
author.