» Veröffentlicht am
12. März 2024
New publication by Sebastian Sattler in Social Science & Medicine on a situational test of the Health Belief Model
Taflinger, S., Sattler, S.
(2024): A Situational Test of the Health Belief Model: How
Perceived Susceptibility Mediates the Effects of the Environment
on Behavioral Intentions. Social Science & Medicine
346: 116715 [Link]
Abstract
Objective: Existing evidence regarding the role of perceived
susceptibility in shaping preventative health behavior is mixed
for the Health Belief Model (HBM). To clarify whether and under
which conditions perceived susceptibility affects preventative
behavior, this study aims to better understand how situational
environmental factors affect perceived susceptibility, thereby
shaping health decisions, and whether this mediation relationship
is conditioned by other HBM cognitions, namely perceived benefits
and severity.
Methods: Therefore, we employed a scenario-based experiment in a
large, representative sample of the German population (N = 4,802)
in April 2022. Respondents were presented with a fictional
invitation to a social gathering, which mimicked a post in a
messenger group chat. The invitation included five experimentally
manipulated scenarios: no COVID-19 preventative measure
implemented, a COVID-19 test is required; either testing negative,
being vaccinated, or being recovered from COVID-19 is required
(known as 3G in the German context); reduced number of attendees;
or the social gathering occurred outside. Moreover, perceived
susceptibility to contract COVID-19 at the social gathering and
perceived severity and benefits (independent of the scenario) were
measured.
Results: We found evidence that perceived susceptibility mediates
the relationship between each implemented preventative measure and
willingness to attend the social gathering. The effect of the
preventative measures on perceived susceptibility and the indirect
effect of the preventative measure on attendance via perceived
susceptibility were moderated by perceived benefits. However,
there is lack of robust evidence that perceived severity moderates
the effect of perceived susceptibility on attendance.
Conclusion: In summary, our study provides evidence that
individuals perceive and adapt their perceptions and behavior to
preventive measures in a given situation, which speaks to the
dynamic nature of the cognition perceived susceptibility.
Moreover, our findings suggest a promising avenue forward for the
HBM is to examine how the cognitions and the environment together
shape preventative health behavior.
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