Beyond single behaviour theory: Adding cross-behaviour cognitions to the health action process approach

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Health Psychology
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Existing health behavior theories often focus on single behaviors, limiting understanding of holistic healthy lifestyle adoption.
• Cross-behavior cognitions, such as transfer cognitions and compensatory health beliefs, are recognized as influencing overall healthy lifestyles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the contribution of cross-behavior cognitions (transfer cognitions and compensatory health beliefs) to established single behavior theories.
• To determine how these cross-behavior cognitions influence physical activity and healthy dietary behavior.

Main Methods:

• A total of 767 participants from Germany and southern Europe completed online questionnaires.
• Data collected included physical activity, healthy dietary behavior, behavior-specific cognitions, and cross-behavior cognitions.
• Nested path models were used to analyze the influence of cross-behavior cognitions on behavior-specific predictors.

Main Results:

• Transfer cognitions positively correlated with intention and self-regulatory strategies for both health behaviors.
• Compensatory health beliefs showed a negative association with intention.
• Action planning and action control mediated the relationship between intentions and behavior.

Conclusions:

• Cross-behavior cognitions significantly contribute to understanding single behavior theories and how individuals manage multiple health behaviors.
• Transfer cognitions appear to facilitate healthy lifestyle adoption, whereas compensatory health beliefs may impede it.
• Future research should integrate both facilitating and hindering cross-behavior cognitions within a comprehensive multiple behavior framework.