Social influence and motivation to change health behaviors among mexican-origin adults: implications for diet and physical activity.

Auteur(s) :
Wilkinson AV., Ashida S., Koehly LM.
Date :
Jan, 2012
Source(s) :
Am J Health Promot.. #26:3 p176-179
Adresse :
Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. [email protected]

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PURPOSE:
To evaluate whether influence from social network members is associated with motivation to change dietary and physical activity behaviors.

DESIGN:
Baseline assessment followed by mailing of family health history-based personalized messages (2 weeks) and follow-up assessment (3 months).

SETTING:
Families from an ongoing population-based cohort in Houston, Texas.

SUBJECTS:
475 adults from 161 Mexican-origin families. Out of 347 households contacted, 162 (47%) participated.

MEASURES:
Family health history, social networks, and motivation to change behaviors.

ANALYSIS:
Two-level logistic regression modeling.

RESULTS:
Having at least one network member who encourages one to eat more fruits and vegetables (p = .010) and to engage in regular physical activity (p = .046) was associated with motivation to change the relevant behavior. About 40% of the participants did not have encouragers for these behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS:
Identification of new encouragers within networks and targeting natural encouragers (e.g., children, spouses) may increase the efficacy of interventions to motivate behavioral changes among Mexican-origin adults.

Source : Pubmed
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