Abstract: Objective To explore the mediating and moderating effects of perception of stress between health concern and living habits. Methods We recruited 414 postgraduates from three provinces across China by stratified sampling method. A linear regression model was used to analyze the mediating and moderating effects of perception of stress between health concern and living habits, and the structural equation model was used to verify its effect. Results The score of lifestyle habits increased with the score of health concern, and the difference was statistically significant（P<0.001）. Perception of stress was negatively correlated with lifestyle habits, indicating statistical significance (P≤0.01). Perception of stress played a mediating role between health concern and the habit of eating breakfast and staying up late (P<0.05), and it was a partial mediator between health concern and the habit of eating breakfast, drinking, exercise and overall daily habits. The standardized direct effect and 95%CI were 0.422(0.332~0.511), 0.199(0.108~0.290), 0.481(0.395~0.567), and 0.645(0.572~0.718), respectively. Conclusion Postgraduates with inadequate health concerns and higher perception of stress are prone to unhealthy lifestyle habits. To a certain extent, perception of stress affects the effect of health concerns on some lifestyle habits.

Key words: health concern, living habit, perception, mediating and moderating effect