Fuchs R, Heath G W, Wheeler F C
Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Psychologie, Germany.
Health Educ Res. 1992 Sep;7(3):327-34. doi: 10.1093/her/7.3.327.
It is hypothesized that perceived morbidity, a concept closely related to perceived vulnerability, is an important determinant of health behaviors. In this cross-sectional study (N = 2740), perceived morbidity was conceptualized as a categorical variable defining six distinct morbidity groups: the hypertension, high cholesterol, angina pectoris, heart attack, stroke and 'morbidity-free' groups. We used analyses of covariance to identify differences in health behaviors between the six groups; the analyses were done separately for middle-aged (40-60 years old) and older ( greater than 60 years old) respondents. Results show that perceived morbidity had a significant effect on fat consumption (P less than 0.001) and on physical activity (P < 0.01). In both age ranges, the morbidity-free group had the highest fat consumption; among the middle-aged respondents, the level of physical activity was significantly lower in the morbidity-free group than in the heart attack group. Furthermore, respondents in the high cholesterol group showed consistently a 'better' health behavior than people in the hypertension group. Overall, these results suggest that the concept of perceived morbidity may be useful in explaining inter-individual differences in health behaviors.
研究假设，感知发病率这一与感知易感性密切相关的概念，是健康行为的一个重要决定因素。在这项横断面研究（N = 2740）中，感知发病率被概念化为一个分类变量，定义了六个不同的发病组：高血压组、高胆固醇组、心绞痛组、心脏病发作组、中风组和“无发病”组。我们使用协方差分析来确定这六个组之间健康行为的差异；分析分别针对中年（40 - 60岁）和老年（大于60岁）受访者进行。结果表明，感知发病率对脂肪摄入量（P < 0.001）和身体活动（P < 0.01）有显著影响。在两个年龄范围内，“无发病”组的脂肪摄入量最高；在中年受访者中，“无发病”组的身体活动水平显著低于心脏病发作组。此外，高胆固醇组的受访者始终表现出比高血压组的人“更好”的健康行为。总体而言，这些结果表明，感知发病率的概念可能有助于解释个体间健康行为的差异。
