Adolescent health-threatening and health-enhancing behaviors: a study of word association and imagery.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the ways in which perceived risks and benefits relate to health-threatening and health-enhancing behaviors by adolescents.


METHODS
The study used a word association methodology to explore adolescents' thoughts and affective feelings associated with five health-threatening behaviors (e.g., drinking beer, smoking cigarettes) and three health-enhancing behaviors (e.g., exercising, using a seat belt).


RESULTS
Each behavior elicited a mix of positive and negative associations. Health-threatening behaviors had many positive associations in common, such as having fun, social facilitation, and physiological arousal. Health-enhancing behaviors had much less commonality in their positive associations. Patterns of negative associations were not highly similar across behaviors. The content and affective tone of the associations were closely linked to participation in health-threatening behaviors and health-enhancing behaviors. Participants in an activity were far more likely than nonparticipants to associate that activity with positive outcomes, concepts, and affect and less likely to produce outcomes, concepts, and affect and less likely to produce negative associations.


CONCLUSIONS
The word association methodology provides a useful technique for exploring adolescents' cognitions and affective reactions with regard to health-related behaviors. The data provided by this method have implications for prevention and intervention programs, as well as for future research.
Benthin
A
A
Decision Research, Eugene, OR 97401, USA.
Slovic
P
P
Moran
P
P
Severson
H
H
Mertz
C K
CK
Gerrard
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012622:Seat Belts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D014936:Word Association Tests