Introduction:

There is controversy about the relationship between beliefs and the realization of breast self-examination in women and there is a lack of studies which show the influence that couples can have in that practice.

Objective:

To identify whether there is an association between breast self-examination, lifestyles, health beliefs, and partner relationships in university students.

Materials and methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 284 women students from the University of Veracruz. The Health beliefs questionnaire was applied to breast self-examination and a personal data questionnaire.

Results:

The average age was 20.32. Only 19.7% of the students reported the realization of breast self-examination monthly. Women who did not have a couple showed greater barriers to self-examination and lower perceived benefits. Age favored the realization of breast self-examination, while the perceived barriers limited it. On the other hand, having a couple was associated with lower barriers and increased benefits to self-examination.

Conclusions:

There is low self-examination in the students despite their knowledge. Having a couple decreases the perceived barriers to conducting breast self-examination.

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