ABSTRACT
The present study investigated the manner in which Pepper's (1942) worldview theory relates to health promoting behavior. A sample of 259 subjects completed a battery of inventories measuring worldview, health promoting behavior (HPB), social class, and sex. The data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling using the statistical program for the social sciences (SPSS) and the analysis of moment and structure (AMOS) computer programs. The results support the idea that a modest relationship exists between worldview and HPB, with organismic thinkers more likely than mechanistic thinkers to engage in HPB. There was also a slight indirect effect of sex on worldview and HPB, with women more likely to endorse an organismic worldview and therefore more likely to engage in HPB than men. No relationship was found between socioeconomic status and HPB.
Subject(s)
Health Behavior , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Models, Statistical , Adolescent , Adult , Black or African American , Data Interpretation, Statistical , Female , Health Promotion/statistics & numerical data , Hispanic or Latino , Humans , Life Style , Male , Psychological Tests , Sex Factors , Social Class , White PeopleSubject(s)
Personality , Professional-Patient Relations , Psychotherapy , Verbal Behavior , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle AgedSubject(s)
Ethnicity/psychology , Prisoners/psychology , Problem Solving , Adult , Field Dependence-Independence , Humans , MaleSubject(s)
Dementia/therapy , Milieu Therapy , Reality Therapy , Aged , Homes for the Aged , Humans , OrientationABSTRACT
The current conceptualization of the locus of control construct as unidimensional was challenged. The Rotter I-E scale, James I-E scale, and Adult Nowicki-Strickland I-E scale were examined with regard to their reported psychometric properties. The three scales were factor analyzed using a principal components method with varimax rotation. Results indicated a multifactor makeup for the three scales. It was suggested that attempts to measure a generalized expectancy for control be abandoned and that, instead, measurement attempts focus on the development of instruments specific to the behavioral and situational domains for which behavioral understanding, prediction, and control are sought.
