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A meta-analysis of the health action process approach
The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) serves as a social-cognitive model delineating the motivational and volitional determinants of health behavior. A comprehensive meta-analysis was performed on 95 studies encompassing 108 independent samples to assess the magnitude and variability of correlations among HAPA constructs, validate model predictions, and evaluate the influence of past behavior and various moderators (including behavior type, sample type, measurement lag, and study quality) on model relationships. The analysis revealed that action and maintenance self-efficacy, as well as outcome expectancies, had small to medium effects on health behavior. Notably, the effects of outcome expectancies and action self-efficacy were mediated by intentions, alongside action and coping planning. Conversely, the influences of risk perceptions and recovery self-efficacy were minimal. Past behavior was found to diminish the strength of the intention-behavior relationship. Across different moderator groups, few variations in model effects were observed. Specifically, the impact of action self-efficacy on intentions and behavior was more pronounced in studies focused on physical activity, whereas the effect of volitional self-efficacy on behavior was greater in dietary behavior studies. These findings underscore the critical role of self-efficacy in predicting health behavior across both motivational and volitional action phases. This analysis aims to stimulate further research, particularly experimental studies aimed at altering individual HAPA constructs and longitudinal investigations to explore changes and reciprocal effects among the constructs within the model. [NPID: HAPA, Health Action Process Approach, health behavior, motivation, self-efficacy, model]
Year: 2019
