Perception of fear and adoption of risk control for hookah use among male students: using the extended parallel process model

The prevalence of hookah uses increasing in the world, such that its sharper incremental trend compared to cigarette use has been observed in recent years. This study was conducted to assess hookah use by the extended parallel process model (EPPM) among male students in Mashhad. In this descriptive crosssectional study which was conducted, 400 undergraduate students in two different universities of Mashhad participated based on stratified simple random sampling. Data were collected by a selfreport questionnaire and analyzed by regression analysis. 30.8% of the students reported that they had used hookah in the last two months. The mean score of the perceived susceptibility, perceived severity and self-efficacy to hookah use consequences was more in hookah non-user students than in hookah users. Mean score of the perceived effectiveness in hookah user students was less than that in hookah non-user students. Our findings showed that messages with efficient solutions to counter the threat are efficient when they are associated with perceived threat. Generally, lower scores of the variables of extended parallel process model in relation to students health threat indicated increased probability of hookah use.