Index

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IndexIntroduction

In this e elearning session we will explore the range of factors that can influence health behaviours and especially thosethat can influence children's eating habits and attitudes towards food and nutrition.

This learning session is divided into three sections.

1. Overview

Personal Constructs Planned Behaviour Theory Sense of Coherence

Social Cognition and Health The Health Belief Model

2. Learning Activity to help you think about how these theoretical perspectives might be used in practice.

3. Background Readings to help you develop a more detailed knowledge of topics covered.

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Learning Activity

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Learning Activity

Menu

Introduction

Background Readings

Overview

Personal Constructs Planned Behaviour Theory Sense of Coherence

Social Cognition and Health

The Health Belief Model

If you have read through the brief overviews , followed the links in the text and looked at oneor two of the suggested readings you should be in a good position to start thinking abouthow some of these ideas might be of value in work with young children and their families onfood related issues.

For example, if we take the Health Belief Model as a starting point, it is self evident thatyoung children's capacity for rational decision making is relatively limited. According to thehealth belief model when we are working to support behavioural change with obese children(or adults) one of our tasks is to make sure that they have adequate and reliable informationto help them understand the different components of a healthy diet. This approach assumesthat, given the correct information, each person is capable of making a positive choice abouteating habits that will improve their health.

However if we take into account Planned Behaviour Theory which proposes that we alsotake into account Subjective Norms- the views of others and our willingness to comply withthose views, then the decision becomes much more complex. All of us are subject to 'peerpressure' and depending on our personality (Personal Constructs) we are more or less likelyto fall in line with what is going on around us rather than step out on our own, even whenpreviously accepted rational decisions suggest that we should.

For young children the desire to conform to subjective norms, especially those of our familyand friends, is very strong. What this suggest is that even if we can teach the child thebasic requirements of a healthy diet, even if they agree to eat in a 'healthy' manner, theinfluence of family and friends is likely to be more important in influencing actual behaviourthan rational judgements based on health education guidance such a the 5 a dayprogrammes that operate in many countries. This suggest that attempts to support positivelifestyle changes in obese children will need to focus on 'cultural' change within families andpeer groups rather than the simple transmission of good advice.

Activity

Now that you have finished this part of the learning session it's time to think and share yourthoughts. I have set up a forum for this learning session which will enable you to share yourideas on psychological and social aspects of food and nutrition. Please visit the forum andshare your ideas about the following:

1. If health behaviours are influenced by experiences of everyday life then it should followthat obese children have predominantly been influenced by counter health givingexperiences at home and school. What can we do during the summer camp to helpparticipants understand how their experiences and behaviours can be modified to producemore healthy eating and dietary habits?

2. Selecting at least one aspect of the theories presented in this session suggest an activityfor the summer camp that could help to improve awareness of reason ing and awareness ofpersonal factors influencing our eating behaviour.

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Personal Constructs

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Personal ConstructsMenu

Introduction

Background Readings

Learning Activity

Overview Planned Behaviour Theory Sense of Coherence

Social Cognition and Health

The Health Belief Model

Personal Construct Theory was developed by psychologist George Kelly to explain how weuse personal constructs- ways of viewing the world and ways in which we are likely construeor make sense of the world as we experience it. According to Kelly developing personalconstructs (sets of ideas about the world) help us to make sense of the world. they help us tooperate within the world. We develop these constructs in response to the experiences wehave as we go through our lives.

Kelly used this notion of personal constructs to devise an interview technique that wouldenable researchers or therapists to build a map of the key personal constructs that theinterviewee used to make sense of the world. This interview strategy is known as RepertoryGrid method.

Follow this link fro a brief explanation of how repertory grid technique is used.

The Repertory Grid is a useful tool for helping researchers and practitioners understand thepersonal constructs that interviewees use to inform their behaviour. Understanding howpeople put these constructs together can provide practical insights into ways of helpingpeople change existing behavioural norms.

Personal Constructs

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Planned Behaviour Theory

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Planned Behaviour TheoryMenu

Introduction

Background Readings

Learning Activity

Overview

Personal Constructs Sense of Coherence

Social Cognition and Health

The Health Belief Model

The Theory of Planned Behaviour was developed by Icek Ajzen to explain the linksbetween attitudes and sociual behaviour.

According to this theory we decide upon a course of action through three kinds ofconsideration. 1. Behavioural beliefs - positive or negative attitudes towards a given behaviour,their value, their efficacy and the consequences of the proposed behaviour.2. Normative beliefs- How other people view this behaviour, our willingness tocomply with the views of others3. Control beliefs- The internal and external resources avilable to support adoptionof a behaviour, the opportunity available to take action.

Planned Behaviour Theory

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Sense of Coherence

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Sense of Coherence

Menu

Introduction

Background Readings

Learning Activity

Overview

Personal Constructs Planned Behaviour Theory

Social Cognition and Health

The Health Belief Model

Aaron Antonovsky proposed the Sense of Coherence referring to “Theextent to which one has a pervasive, enduring though dynamic, feeling ofconfidence that one’s environment is predictable and that things willwork out as well as can reasonably be expected.â€

Sense of Coherence consists of three components

1. Comprehensibility- the extent to which we perceive our lives to bestructured, predictable and explainable.

2. Manageability- the extent to which we consider that personal andexternal resources can support our chosen actions.

3. Meaningfulness- the extent to which the proposed behaviour ismeaningful in our own lives.

According to Antonovsky people with a high sense of coherence are likelyto enjoy perceive themselves to enjoy a greater amount of health andwell being.

Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence model builds on his work on salutogenichealth. Salutogenic perspectives on health focus on factors that supporthealth and well being running contrary to pathogenic perspectives whichfocus on the notion of the body as an organism and the factors thatcontribute to illness and disease. Pathogenic models, which dominatewestern medicine, tend to see health in terms of the absence of disease,disability or impairment.

For more on Antonovsky's ideas about salutogenic health see

Antonovsky, A (1996) The salutogenic model as a theory to guide healthpromotion, Health Promotion International, Vol, 11 (1)

Sense of Coherence

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Social Cognition

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Social Cognition

Menu

Introduction

Background Readings

Learning Activity

Overview

Personal Constructs Planned Behaviour Theory Sense of Coherence

Social Cognition andHealth

The Health Belief Model

Social behaviour, how we behave in different social situations, is a consequence of howwe understand the social world. We learn the social rules, ways of acting, theconventions and normative expectations of everyday life through interaction with others.

The process of socialisation, provides the opportunities for learning what to expect, howto be have and how to make sense of the world. It starts from our earliest childhoodexperiences and continues throughout our lives helping us construct, review andreconstruct notions of reality. It is our social experiences that largely determine how wethink, what we think and how we act upon our ideas about reality.

Socialisation provides the basis for Social Cognition the process by which we think aboutour world. In very simple terms we can break this down into person perception- how wemake sense of others, and self regulation- how we make sense of ourselves.

It is through these process of socialisation and social cognition that we decide how wewill think about and act in relation to perceived health challenges.

Social Cognition

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The Health Belief Model

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The Health Belief Model

Menu

Introduction

Background Readings

Learning Activity

Overview

Personal Constructs Planned Behaviour Theory Sense of Coherence

Social Cognition and Health

The Health Belief Model draws on a number of psychological perspectives and setsout the key aspects of health related decision making. According to this model wemake decisions about health related behaviours according to three key areas-Threats to our health, evaluation of our behavioural potentials and the main cuesthat prompt a positive response to perceived health challenges.

The health belief model assumes a more or less rational approach to everyday life.It assumes that we weigh up the pros and cons of available actions and make achoice based on our evaluation of the perceived benefits. Following the stepsoutlined in the model a practitioner hoping to influence the behaviour of an obeseperson

The Health Belief Model

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Page Index

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Page IndexBackground Readings

Index

Learning Activity

Personal Constructs

Planned Behaviour Theory

Sense of Coherence

Social Cognition

The Health Belief Model

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Background Readings

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Background Readings

Menu

Introduction

Learning Activity

Overview

Personal Constructs Planned Behaviour Theory Sense of Coherence

Social Cognition and Health

The Health Belief Model

Antonovsky, A. (1984) The sense of coherence as a determinant of health. John Wiley & Sons, Ball, K., Mishra, G.D. & Crawford, D. (2003) Social factors and obesity: an investigation of therole of health behaviours. International Journal of Obesity, 27, 394-403.

Braet, C. & Mervielde, I. (1997) Psychological Aspects of Childhood Obesity: A Controlled Studyin a Clinical and Non Clinical Sample. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 22, 59-71.

Eriksson, M. & Lindstrom, B. (2005) Validity of Antonovsky’s sense of coherence scale: asystematic review. J Epidemiol Community Health, 59, 460-466.

Vamosi, M., Heitmann, B.L. & Kyvik, K.O. (2009) The relation between an adverse psychologicaland social environment in childhood and the development of adult obesity: a systematic literaturereview. Obesity Reviews

Walker, L. et al. (2009) Obesity: The Role of Child Mental Health Services. Child and AdolescentMental Health, 14, 114-120.

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Category 'ToDo'

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Category 'Research'

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Category 'Home'

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Category 'Read Later'

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