Health Behaviors: Empirical Consistency and Theoretical Significance of Subdomains.

Abstract

This study examined the feasibility and utility of categorizing health behaviors (HB) into subdomains. Prior evidence has been inconclusive because few studies have examined large numbers of HB and because analysis procedures have varied across studies. Data regarding 37 HB were obtained from 191 young men. Factor and cluster analyses identified 4 HB categories consistent with prior findings; descriptive labels were Health Hazards Avoidance, Risk Taking, Preventive Habits, and Health Hygiene. These categories correspond to suggested conceptual distinctions in the HB literature. Because there were at least 2, and possibly 3, distinct patterns of correlation to health motivation variables, different explanatory models probably will be needed for the different categories. HB findings from several studies now converge sufficiently to shift HB research efforts from exploratory analyses to determine whether HB can be classified into subdomains to confirmatory analyses to clarify the boundaries of the subdomains and the place of each subdomain within a general model of HB. (Author).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1984
Accession Number
ADA152049

Entities

People

  • L. K. Hervig
  • R. R. Vickers Jr.

Organizations

  • Naval Health Research Center

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Behavior And Behavior Mechanisms
  • Behavioral Research
  • Biomedical Research
  • Boundaries
  • Classification
  • Consistency
  • Environmental Health
  • Factor Analysis
  • Hazards
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Human Behavior
  • Motivation
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Risk
  • Security

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Aviation Safety Risk Assessment.
  • Psychometric Testing or Psychological Assessment.
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML