Health Behaviors: Empirical Consistency and Theoretical Significance of Subdomains

摘要

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).