June 27, 2024

Why is it important to help people choose the right lifestyle behaviors to change?

HLTH-6038-1/HLTH-8038E-1 Health Behavior Theory-Spring 2024

Module 1 Discussion

APPLYING THE SELF-EFFICACY THEORY

Have you ever tried to change a behavior, such as starting a walking routine after a period of being sedentary? Perhaps you convinced yourself this was something you could do because you had already mastered another good habit, such as giving up sweets. Put simply, your earlier success gave you the confidence to succeed at something else. This is the premise of the Self-Efficacy Theory, identified as an intrapersonal theory. In essence, it centers on the idea that an individual’s belief that he or she can accomplish something is critical to attempting it. Self-Efficacy Theory includes the constructs of mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and somatic and emotional states, which are defined in your Learning Resources.

Like most theories and models, however, the Self-Efficacy Theory cannot be unilaterally applied the same way to all individuals in all populations. Other factors enter the equation and must be taken into consideration. For example, how might gender, age, socioeconomic status, self-esteem, or other factors affect one’s beliefs?

For this Discussion, you apply the Self-Efficacy Theory to different populations using the health behavior examples provided.

RESOURCES

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.

Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.

WEEKLY RESOURCES

TO PREPARE :

Review this module’s Resources.

Focus on Hayden (2023), Chapter 2, “Medication Adherence, When Lifestyle is the Medicine” (pp. 25-34).

Reflect on your individual Strength Finder strengths discovered in HLTH 8003 or HLTH 6005.

BY DAY 3

Using the Self-Efficacy Theory example from Hayden (2023), Chapter 2, “Medication Adherence, When Lifestyle is the Medicine” respond to the following questions: