Health Behavior Theory and cumulative knowledge regarding health behaviors: are we moving in the right direction?

Although research on Health Behavior Theory (HBT) is being conducted at a rapid pace, the extent to which the field is truly moving forward in understanding health behavior has been questioned. This issue is examined in the current article. First, we discuss the problems within the HBT literature. S...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health education research 2005-06, Vol.20 (3), p.275-290
Main Authors: Noar, Seth M., Zimmerman, Rick S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior Change
Behavior Modification
Behavior Theories
Comparative Analysis
Health Behavior
Health behaviour
Health Education
Health technology assessment
Humans
Meta-Analysis as Topic
Models, Psychological
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Reflective practice
Researchers
Resistance (Psychology)
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Summary:Although research on Health Behavior Theory (HBT) is being conducted at a rapid pace, the extent to which the field is truly moving forward in understanding health behavior has been questioned. This issue is examined in the current article. First, we discuss the problems within the HBT literature. Second, we discuss the proliferation of HBT and why theory comparison is essential to this area of research. Finally, we reflect on ways that the field might move forward by suggesting a new agenda for HBT research. It is argued that increased recognition of the similarity of health behavior constructs as well as increased empirical comparisons of theories are essential for true scientific progress in this line of inquiry.
ISSN:0268-1153
1465-3648
DOI:10.1093/her/cyg113