title: Some relevant components of adherence behavior.
abstract: Adherence to medical or psychological prescriptions is analyzed as a type of rule and self-rule following behavior. Variables that increase the likelihood of compliance are: (1) the specific motivational condition, usually aversive when treatment or preventive prescription is sought, (2) the medium of contact and context used when receiving the prescription, (3) attentive responses under the control of the prescription, (4) understanding the complexity of the prescription, (5) the specific content of the prescription, (6) verbalization on the willingness to follow the prescription, (7) appropriate abilities for producing the behaviors described in the prescription, (8) physical facilities and appropriate biological conditions for producing the behaviors, (9) verbalization describing the relationship between the adherence response and the immediate and long-term consequences, functioning as a discriminative stimulus and as a reinforcing event, (10) compatibility between daily activities and the behaviors described in the prescription: response cost and self-control behavior when several behaviors are possible and probable. Strategies which facilitate self-control as well as incompatible behavior are suggested.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Personalidad, Universidad de Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carmen Luciano
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Herruzo
mesh_terms: D001521:Behavior Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D009042:Motivation; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012931:Social Environment