Social-cognitive predictors of health behavior: Action self-efficacy and coping self-efficacy.

Abstract

The effects of social-cognitive variables on preventive nutrition and behavioral intentions were studied in 580 adults at 2 points in time. The authors hypothesized that optimistic self-beliefs operate in 2 phases and made a distinction between action self-efficacy (preintention) and coping self-efficacy (pmtintantion). Risk perceptions, outcome expectancies, and action self-efficacy were specified as predictors of the intention at Wave 1. Behavioral intention and coping serf-efficacy served as mediatcn linking the 3 predictors with low-fat and high-fiber dietary intake 6 months later at Wave 2. Covariance structure analysis yielded a good model fit for the total sample and 6 subsamples created by a median split of 3 moderators: gender, age, and body weight. Parameter estimates differed between samples; the importance of perceived self-efficacy increased with age and weight.Key words: health cognitions, risk appraisals, self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, preventive nutrition, body weightThe Berlin Risk Appraisal and Health Motivation Study (BRAHMS) was designed to examine the social-cognitive determinants of health behaviors, such as physical exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, and preventive nutrition. In the study reported in this article, our focus is on self-reported nutrition. Eating a healthy diet low in saturated fat and high in fiber is a common medical recommendation. According to current medical knowledge, such nutrition helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and other ailments. However, most people do not adhere to this advice, and many have not even developed an explicit intention to adopt it, Three factors specified by social-cognitive health behavior theodes were considered as possible predictors: (a) risk appraisals, defined as one's perceived vulnerability compared to that of others; Co) behavior-specific outcome expectancies (i.e., expected benefits of preventive nutrition); and (c) self-efficacy befiefs in the face of obstacles and barriers to adopt health behaviors. Moreover, the roles of gender, age, and body weight were examined.Ralf Schwa, Gesundeheitspsychologie, Freie Universitat Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Britta Rennet, Department of Psychology, Emst-MoritzArndt-Universi~t C_neifswald, Griefswald, Germany.This research was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinsehaft and the Techniker Krankenkasse for Berlin ond Brandenburg. We thank Andr6 Hahn and Thomas yon Lengerke for their collaboration on this project and Barbel Kntiuper, Gerdemarie SchmRz, and Lars Satow for their helpful comments on the first dra~.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ralf Schwarzer, Gesundheitspsychologie, Freie Universittit Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany. Electronic mail may be sent to health @ zedat fu-berlin.de. Perceived Self-Efficacy and Preventive NutritionThe construct of self-efficacy represents one core aspect of social-cognitive theory (Bandura, 1997). Whereas outcome expectancies refer to the perception of the possible consequences of o...

Social-cognitive predictors of dietary behaviors in South Korean men and women

“…All items were adopted from Schwarzer and Renner (2000), except for planning, and translated from German into Korean by bilingual and bicultural individuals and native-language speakers and were verified through back translations (Behling & Law, 2000). All items were tested in a pilot study with respect to ambiguity, plausibility, and difficulty in order to reduce the frequency of invalid responses (cf., Clark & Watson, 1995).…”

“…The model includes three predictors of the intention to eat a healthy diet (action self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, objective health risk) and three predictors of self-reported nutrition behavior (intention, coping self-efficacy, planning). The analysis may partly replicate the Schwarzer and Renner (2000) study conducted with a German sample on the same topic, but the present study differs in three respects: (1) the study was conducted in South Korea, (2) it incorporates objective risk factors (body weight, blood pressure, cholesterol levels), and (3) it includes data on action planning.…”

“…Later, a health-related behavior needs to be initiated and maintained. Coping self-efficacy (Schwarzer & Renner, 2000; see also "maintenance self-efficacy," Luszczynska & Schwarzer, 2003) describes optimistic beliefs about one's capability to deal with barriers that arise during the maintenance period. A new health behavior might turn out to be much more difficult to adhere to than expected, but a self-efficacious person responds confidently with better strategies, more effort, and prolonged persistence to overcome such hurdles.…”

“…Accordingly, the HAPA model is conceptualized as a mediator model, whereby coping self-efficacy is assumed to mediate between action self-efficacy and behavior (see also Schwarzer & Renner, 2000). Supporting this notion, studies applying the HAPA model showed that action self-efficacy and coping self-efficacy differed in their effects on dietary behaviors (a diet low in fat and one high in vitamins) and on corresponding intentions (Renner & Schwarzer, 2005;Schwarzer & Renner, 2000). Action self-efficacy emerged as a significant predictor of intentions, whereas coping self-efficacy contributed to the prediction of eating a low-fat and high-vitamin diet.…”

“…For example, unforeseen barriers emerge and people give in to temptations, which compromise the translation of intentions into action. Some of these post-intentional factors have been identified, such as coping self-efficacy (Luszczynska & Schwarzer, 2003;Schwarzer & Renner, 2000), action planning (Gollwitzer & Brandstätter, 1997;Lippke, Ziegelmann, & Schwarzer, 2004), or action control . The present study examines the role that self-efficacy and planning play in the context of dietary behaviors, that is, eating a low-fat and high-vitamin diet.…”