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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral science
  • Psychology
  • Health behavior research

Background:

  • Understanding factors influencing behavior initiation and maintenance is crucial, especially considering behavioral complexity.
  • This study examines how factors like intention, self-efficacy, motivation, self-identity, and habit strength change over time for simple (supplement intake) versus complex (exercise) behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test hypotheses about the changing roles of psychological factors in the initiation and maintenance of behaviors.
  • To investigate the relationship between these factors and behavioral frequency over time for behaviors of differing complexity.
  • To compare the predictive power of various factors on behavioral frequency, considering self-report and objective measures.

Main Methods:

  • Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial involving young adult women.
  • Participants were assigned to take daily calcium (N=161) or engage in daily brisk walking (N=171) for 4 weeks.
  • Weekly measurements of intentions, self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, self-identity, and habit strength, analyzed using multi-level modeling, correlations, and regression.

Main Results:

  • Intentions and self-efficacy predicted initial engagement for both behaviors.
  • Habit strength increased over time and predicted behavioral frequency in later weeks for both behaviors.
  • The predictive power of factors varied depending on whether outcomes were self-reported or objectively measured, and analysis type (bivariate vs. multivariate).

Conclusions:

  • Habit strength emerged as a significant predictor of behavioral frequency by the study's end for both simple and complex behaviors.
  • Differences in initiation and maintenance factors between behaviors of varying complexity may be less pronounced than anticipated.
  • Longer-term studies are necessary to fully understand the dynamics of behavioral maintenance.