Adults motivation to implement health behaviors

More and more frequent occurrence of civilisational diseases has made it necessary to shape healthy lifestyle as well as to encourage people to practice health behaviors. Studies show that awareness of the benefits of such lifestyle itself does not guarantee the adequate level of motivation to pursue it. According to Isaac Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior it is subjective norms, an attitude towards behavior and a perceived behavioral control that affect motivation. The aim of our research was to verify the Aizen’s model in relation to health behaviors undertaken by adults, and to answer the question whether age (e.g. due to the decrease of body condition, but also the specificity of developmental tasks) is a factor which differentiates the level of motivation for health behaviors. The study included 60 people divided into two groups – early and late adulthood. We used conventional and original research tools: Health Behaviors Inventory, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control, Questionnaire for Attitudes towards Health Behaviors and Test of Subjective Norm for Health Behaviors – the latter two methods are of our own authorship. Among the most important results of the conducted research are the data indicating that an important predictor of health behaviors in the group of early adulthood are attitudes towards such behaviors (they explain 55% of the variability). At the same time, in the older group the significant variables are both attitudes and internal locus of control, which explain 35% of the variability of results. This information can be helpful when creating programs for changing health habits in different age groups.