The influence of health beliefs on health practices: An examination of different age groups.
Huang, Sheu-jen
1990
Abstract
This study examines the influence of age on health beliefs and the influence of these health beliefs on five "good" health practices. In addition, the study explores the mechanism behind the emergent behavioral differences. The five "good" health practices include: nonsmoking, drinking in moderation or abstinence, having nutritionally balanced diet, doing exercise, and sleeping for 7 to 8 hours. It is proposed in this study that the influence of age on health practices is mediated by the individuals' health beliefs. The major hypotheses tested are: (1) Prevalence of "good" health practices increases with age, except for exercise. (2) People who feel more susceptible to chronic diseases and anticipate greater severity, should they get them, and who, in addition, believe in the benefit of engaging in "good" health practices have more "good" health practices. (3) The greater amount of "good" health practices in the older population is due to the older people feeling more vulnerable and expecting greater benefits from the "good" health practices. (4) Health beliefs have stronger effects on the health practices of the older than of the younger population, except for exercise. These hypotheses were tested with data from a longitudinal, statewide survey initially conducted in Michigan in 1980 and followed-up in 1982, based on a probability sample of Michigan residents aged 18 and above. Of the original respondents, 2,151 (70%) were successfully followed-up. Ordinary Least Squares Multiple Regression was used to analyze the data. The first hypothesis is generally supported, except for the unanticipated finding that age is not significantly related to sleep. The second hypothesis is partly confirmed. Perceived benefit is the only predictor consistently correlated with health practices, except for sleep. The third hypothesis is also partly supported, i.e., the differences in the health practices in different age groups can be explained by their differences in perception of benefit. Age, a key variable in this study, has a significant direct effect on health practices; there is also an interaction effect of age and health beliefs on smoking, diet, exercise, and sleep, though not on drinking. It is suggested that intervention programs on smoking, drinking, diet, and exercise aim to enhance "perceived benefit" of these health practices and also take age differences of the target population into account to achieve optimal effects.Other Identifiers
(UMI)AAI9023570
Subjects
Health Sciences, Public Health Education, Health
Types
Thesis
Metadata
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