Compensatory health belief
The Compensatory Health conviction ( English Compensatory Health Belief ) is the erroneous assumption that unhealthy behaviors could be compensated with an equivalent of healthy behavior. It is thus one of the so-called multiple changes in health behavior, which change different behaviors at the same time or one after the other so as not to bring about any change overall. A distinction is made between behaving in the same direction, the so-called transfer convictions, in order to safely achieve a certain goal, for example eating healthy and exercising, and the behavioral patterns aimed at compensation, the compensatory health conviction. The idea is that as long as you have enough physical balance, you can continue to eat sweets. There are still no statistically reliable studies available for well-founded scientific statements, in particular regarding behavior without social control or stress.
It belongs to the health belief model , which in health psychology helps determine behavioral decisions with probabilities and cost-benefit considerations. If a zero-sum balance is expected or hoped for as a result of the behavior, the behavior takes place. The associated cognitive bias is not perceived or denied. Numerous studies in recent years have proven this misconception.
An initial study of this behavior took place in Switzerland between 2007 and 2009, in four random samples with a total of 1571 young people and schoolchildren. The results have shown that it is not yet possible to make any statements, just as the criteria for a survey must be improved in other countries. A previously established measuring scale was diagnosed as ineffective.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Change in health behavior, multiple . In: Dorsch, Lexikon der Psychologie, 18th edition, Huber 2013, ISBN 978-3456852348
- ↑ Lena Fleig: Health behavior rarely comes alone ...: What happens when diet and physical activity get involved in a relationship . Free University of Berlin, July 29, 2015
- ↑ Theda Radtke, Urte Scholz, et al .: Compensatory Health Belief Scale: Assessing Its Psychometric Properties . KOPS - The Institutional Repository of the University of Konstanz, 2013
literature
- Maria Austermann: Explanations for Substance Use - The role of implicit and explicit Compensatory Health Beliefs and Personality for Alcohol / Nicotine-related Risk Behavior , Bachelor thesis, Enschede 2016
- Alexandra Kummer: Snacking is OK as long as I eat enough fruits: compensatory health beliefs in nutrition , licentiate, Zurich 2016
- Franziska Bühler: Compensatory health beliefs and sporting activity among students , master's thesis, Zurich 2009
