title: Testing two principles of the Health Action Process Approach in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) proposes principles that can be translated into testable hypotheses. This is one of the first studies to have explicitly tested HAPA's first 2 principles, which are (1) health behavior change process can be subdivided into motivation and volition, and (2) volition can be grouped into intentional and action stages. The 3 stage groups are labeled preintenders, intenders, and actors.
  
  
  METHODS
  The hypotheses of the HAPA model were investigated in a sample of 1,193 individuals with Type 2 diabetes. Study participants completed a questionnaire assessing the HAPA variables. The hypotheses were evaluated by examining mean differences of test variables and by the use of multigroup structural equation modeling (MSEM).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Findings support the HAPA's 2 principles and 3 distinct stages. The 3 HAPA stages were significantly different in several stage-specific variables, and discontinuity patterns were found in terms of nonlinear trends across means. In terms of predicting goals, action planning, and behavior, differences transpired between the 2 motivational stages (preintenders and intenders), and between the 2 volitional stages (intenders and actors).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results indicate implications for supporting behavior change processes, depending on in which stage a person is at: All individuals should be helped to increase self-efficacy. Preintenders and intenders require interventions targeting outcome expectancies. Actors benefit from an improvement in action planning to maintain and increase their previous behavior. Overall, the first 2 principles of the HAPA were supported and some evidence for the other principles was found. Future research should experimentally test these conclusions.
authors.affiliation: Jacobs Center on Lifelong Learning and Institutional Development, Jacobs University Bremen.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lippke
authors.affiliation: Physical Activity & Population Health Education, Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, The University of Newcastle Callaghan.
authors.forename: Ronald C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Plotnikoff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014836:Volition; D055815:Young Adult