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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Rivka C. Liss-Levinson, BA and Paul J. Poppen, PhD. Department of Psychology, George Washington University, 2125 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, 202-994-4403, rivka@gwu.edu

As rates of obesity in the U.S. reach alarming new heights, efforts to promote physical activity (PA) have increased. One approach is to use an attitude-behavior model such as the Health Belief Model (HBM), which asserts that perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived barriers, and perceived benefits determine whether an individual will perform a health action. While the model has been expanded and applied to a variety of behaviors over the years, the relationship among HBM components remains unclear. Although the model posits that perceived benefits minus barriers determines the preferred route of action, most researchers treat perceived barriers and benefits as having independent effects on likelihood of action. Thus, the current study explored whether different representations of relationships among HBM constructs would change its predictive utility for long-term PA intentions. A questionnaire measuring HBM constructs and PA past behavior and future intentions was distributed to 123 undergraduates. When perceived barriers and benefits were entered into regression models as separate variables, only perceived benefits was predictive of 5 year PA intentions. However, when a difference score was used in the analyses (perceived benefits minus barriers), this variable predicted 5, 10, and 20 year PA intentions. Individuals may not consider barriers and benefits separately when determining their PA intentions; rather, they may make their decision based on whether the benefits generally outweigh the barriers. These results suggest that using a difference score may be preferable to examining variables' independent effects for the model to be optimally useful.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe the major components of the Health Belief Model (HBM) and how the model can be applied to the domain of physical activity; and
• Discuss how the different combinations of the constructs in the statistical analyses of the HBM can lead researchers to reach different conclusions with the same data

Keywords: Physical Activity, Methodology

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation