Health-compromising behaviors such as physical inactivity and poor dietary habits are difficult to change. Most social-cognitive theories assume that an individual's intention to change is the best direct predictor of actual change. But people often do not behave in accordance with their intentions. This discrepancy between intention and behavior is due to several reasons. For example, unforeseen barriers could emerge, or people might give in to temptations. Therefore, intention needs to be supplemented by other, more proximal factors that might compromise or facilitate the translation of intentions into action. Some of these postintentional factors have been identified, such as perceived self-efficacy and strategic planning. They help to bridge the intentionbehavior gap. The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) suggests a distinction between (a) preintentional motivation processes that lead to a behavioral intention, and (b) postintentional volition processes that lead to the actual health behavior. In this article, seven studies are reported that examine the role of volitional mediators in the initiation and adherence to five health behaviors: physical exercise, breast self-examination, seat belt use, dietary behaviors, and dental flossing. The general aim is to examine the applicability of the HAPA and its universality by replicating it across different health behaviors, based on various measures, time spans, and samples from different countries.Les comportements nuisibles à la santé tels que le manque d'exercice physique et les mauvaises habitudes alimentaires sont difficiles à modifier. La plupart des théories socio-cognitives admettent que le meilleur prédicteur d'un réel changement est l'intention que la personne a de changer. Mais la conduite est souvent en contradiction avec les intentions. La divergence entre intention et comportement est due à plusieurs raisons. Par exemple, des obstacles imprévus
General self-efficacy is the belief in one's competence to cope with a broad range of stressful or challenging demands, whereas specific self-efficacy is constrained to a particular task at hand. Relations between general self-efficacy and social cognitive variables (intention, implementation intentions, outcome expectancies, and self-regulation), behavior-specific self-efficacy, health behaviors, well-being, and coping strategies were examined among 1,933 respondents in 3 countries: Germany (n = 633), Poland (n = 359), and South Korea (n = 941). Participants were between 16 and 86 years old, and some were dealing with stressful situations such as recovery from myocardial events or tumor surgery. Perceived self-efficacy was measured by means of the General Self-Efficacy Scale (R. Schwarzer & M. Jerusalem, 1995). Meta-analysis was used to determine population effect sizes for four sets of variables. Across countries and samples, there is consistent evidence for associations between perceived self-efficacy and the variables under study confirming the validity of the psychometric scale. General self-efficacy appears to be a universal construct that yields meaningful relations with other psychological constructs.
Although some people may develop an intention to change their health behaviour, they might not take any action. This discrepancy has been labelled the "intention-behaviour gap." Detailed action planning, perceived self-efficacy, and self-regulatory strategies (action control) may mediate between intentions and behaviour. This was examined in a longitudinal sample of 307 cardiac rehabilitation patients who were encouraged to adopt or maintain regular exercise. At the first time point, the predictors of intention and intention itself were assessed. Two months and four months later, the mediators and outcomes were measured. Results confirmed that all the three factors (planning, maintenance self-efficacy, and action control) served to mediate between earlier exercise intentions and later physical activity, each of them making a unique contribution. The results have implications for research on the "intention-behaviour gap," and indicate that planning, maintenance self-efficacy and action control may be important volitional variables.
Planning is regarded as highly valuable in the process of health behaviour change. It bridges the gap between behavioural intentions and health behaviour. To further develop this concept, a distinction is made between action planning and coping planning. The latter refers to the mental simulation of overcoming anticipated barriers to action. Action planning and coping planning for physical exercise were examined in a longitudinal study with 352 cardiac patients. They were approached during rehabilitation treatment and followed up at two and four months after discharge. Both planning cognitions were psychometrically identified, and it was found that they operated differently in the behavioural change process. Action plans were more influential early in the rehabilitation process, whereas coping plans were more instrumental later on. Participants with higher levels of coping planning after discharge were more likely to report higher levels of exercise four months after discharge. It is suggested to include both kinds of planning in interventions at different stages in health behaviour change.
Teacher self-efficacy is studied as a personal resource factor that may protect from the experience of job strain and, thus, make the escalation of burnout less likely. The article examines the relationships between self-efficacy, job stress, and burnout, focusing on mediation (self-efficacy → job stress → burnout). Moreover, it questions whether such a mediation, if found, would be dependent on the levels of other variables (moderated mediation). Study I, with two samples of teachers ( N = 1,203), examined this putative mechanism crosssectionally and found such an effect, in particular for younger teachers and those with low general self-efficacy. Study II, with 458 teachers, replicated the results longitudinally over a period of one year by employing structural equation models. In a cross-lagged panel design, low self-efficacy preceded burnout. Further research should study these mechanisms by interventions that aim at strengthening teacher self-efficacy as a protective resource factor. L'auto-efficacité des enseignants est étudiée comme une ressource personnelle pouvant les protéger de l'expérience de la contrainte professionnelle et rendre l'escalade dans le burnout moins probable. Cet article examine les liens entre l'auto-efficacité, le stress au travail et le burnout, en se focalisant sur la médiation (auto-efficacité → stress au travail → burnout). En outre, il questionne la façon dont une telle médiation, si elle est avérée, pourrait être dépendante du niveau des autres variables (médiation modérée). La recherche 1 comprend deux échantillons d'enseignants ( N = 1,203). Elle examine ce mécanisme croisé supposé et révèle un tel effet, en particulier pour les enseignants les plus jeunes et ceux ayant une auto-efficacité générale basse. L'étude 2 effectuée auprès de 458 enseignants confirme ces résultats, obtenus cette fois de façon longitudinale sur une période d'un an en employant des modèles à équation structurale. Ainsi, une auto-efficacité basse précède le burnout. Des recherches plus poussées pourraient étudier les mécanismes par lesquels des interventions renforcent ou non l'auto-efficacité des enseignants comme source de protection.
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