Lay theories of health, self-rated health, and health behavior intentions

We used an experimental design to examine young adults’ (N = 247; M age = 19.71; 86% female) intentions to engage in health-promoting behaviors in relation to beliefs concerning whether health is malleable or fixed, and how their health is unfolding over time. Individuals in the incremental (health...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health psychology 2019-06, Vol.24 (7), p.979-988
Main Authors: Bunda, Kathryn, Busseri, Michael A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Health behavior
Health beliefs
Health promotion
Health status
Self evaluation
Young adults
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Summary:We used an experimental design to examine young adults’ (N = 247; M age = 19.71; 86% female) intentions to engage in health-promoting behaviors in relation to beliefs concerning whether health is malleable or fixed, and how their health is unfolding over time. Individuals in the incremental (health is malleable) and control conditions viewed their health as improving over time; those in the entity (health is fixed) condition viewed their health as relatively stable. Individuals with more incremental theories of health and those who viewed their health as improving over time (particularly past to present) reported stronger health-promoting behavior intentions.
ISSN:1359-1053
1461-7277
DOI:10.1177/1359105316689143