The psychological profile of the health‐oriented individual

Abstract

This study was designed to explore the psychological characteristics of individuals who score high on a measure assessing health orientation. The measure was constructed in the framework of the cognitive orientation theory and consists of beliefs of four types (about goals, rules and norms, oneself, and general) referring to themes such as trusting people, control, and enjoyment. The subjects were 176 healthy adults (88 men, 88 women) in the age range 31-50 ( M = 39.4 years) examined in the framework of a health survey. They were administered the Cognitive Orientation of Health Questionnaire and other measures assessing emotions, authoritarianism, locus of control, daydreaming, repressiveness, neuroticism, somatic complaints, somatization, and alexithymia. The main results obtained by ANOVA and multiple regression analyses were that high-scorers on health orientation also scored higher on love, joy, contentment, hostility, jealousy (men only), emotional reactions, positive daydreams, internal control, repressiveness, neuroticism, functional-actional self-descriptions, and negative selfreferences. High-scorers on health orientation scored lower on depression, anxiety, fear, jealousy (women only), negative daydreams, poor attentional control, somatic complaints, somatization, alexithymia, positive self-references, and self-descriptions that capitalize on body parts, weight, and appearance. The major conclusions refer to the conception of a psychological general health orientation and its manifestations.

Repressive coping style and positive self‐presentation

“…Kreitler & Kreitler (1991) 227 Repressors had higher scores than truly low anxious patients on pre-operative state anxiety.…”

Psychological risk factors for colorectal cancer?

“…The CO theory has been applied successfully to a range of medical diagnoses [9,22,25,34]. Its major advantage for the study of psychological factors that play a predisposing role in regard to colorectal cancer is that it provides a methodology for identifying the adequate kind of cognitive contents.…”

Health Orientation as a Predictor of Exercising: A Psychographic Approach

“…In their model of preventive health behaviors of consumers, Moorman and Matulich (1993) articulate that the motivation to be healthy is indicative of the extent to which an individual is willing to take care of his or her health, defining health orientation as ''a goal-directed arousal to engage in preventive health behaviors'' (Moorman and Matulich 1993, p. 210). Similarly, working from the framework of the theory of cognitive orientation, Krietler and Kreitler (1991) found distinctive psychological profiles for individuals scoring high and low on cognitive orientation to health. These findings support the conclusion that ''health orientation .…”