The centrality of health behaviours: A network analytic approach

Abstract

Objectives. Since behavioural risk factors are the foremost causes of disability and premature mortality, developing new perspectives for understanding them is of utmost importance. This paper describes an innovative approach that conceptualizes healthrelated behaviours as nodes in a weighted network. Design & Methods.Using self-reported data from a representative sample (n = 374), a network of 37 health behaviours was analysed, with the aim of identifying 'central' nodes, that is, behaviours that are likely to co-occur with others and potentially influence them.Results. In line with conservation of resources theory, the analysis indicated that behaviours related to basic physiological needs (nutrition and sleep) were most central. Behaviour centrality also varied across subpopulations: Periodic medical examinations, eating meals regularly, and sleep hygiene were more central among high-compared to low-socio-economic status participants; behaviours related to supportive social relationships and sun protection were more central among women compared to men.Conclusion. By emphasizing behavioural connectivity, the approach applied herein has identified core health behaviours with potentially high impact on healthy lifestyle behaviours. Statement of ContributionWhat is already known on this subject?Many health behaviours are related to each other. Engagement in one health behaviour can affect engagement in other behaviours.

The Association Between Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours and Coronavirus Protective Behaviours

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical evidence of cross-behavioural effects between healthy lifestyle behaviours and situationally unique behaviours demanded as a protection from a pandemic. The findings are consistent with prior reports on cross-behaviour associations [10,13], and support the importance of considering the interconnectedness among healthrelated behaviours [11]. Several explanations have been offered to account for cross-behaviour effects, some even leading to contradictory predictions.…”

“…However, the coronavirus pandemicis new and most people have had no prior experience with such an occurrence. Nevertheless, there might be a relationship between the new recommendedcoronavirus-related protective behaviours and healthy lifestyle behaviours.Indeed, numerous studies have suggested that engaging in one health behaviourmight result in a higher likelihood of engaging in other health behaviours [10][11][12][13][14][15]. For example, smoking was found topredict alcohol consumption [16], and engaging in physical activity was found to promote healthy nutritional habits [17].…”

“…However, due to quality control procedures, 1 the final number of individuals in the analyses was 463, of which 243 were women (52.5%). This sample size was adequate for our purposes: minimum sample size, based on prior research [11,12,17]…”

Physical Activity, Health Condition and Lifestyle of Academic Youth

“…Much health behaviour is interrelated. Involvement in one health behaviour can affect engagement in other behaviour (Nudelman, Kalish, & Shiloh, 2019).…”

Enhancing the translation of health behaviour change research into practice: a selective conceptual review of the synergy between implementation science and health psychology

“…Another emerging area of theorising in health psychology involves developing theory to account for multiple behaviours (Albarracín et al, 2018;Conner et al, 2016;Fleig et al, 2015;Nudelman et al, 2018). These developments readily generalise to implementation science, where healthcare professionals perform multiple behaviours competing for limited time (Jaén et al, 1994;Presseau et al, 2009).…”