title: Healthy eating at different risk levels for job stress: testing a moderated mediation.
abstract: Health behavior, like fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC), is affected by unfavorable job conditions. However, there is little research to date that combines job stress models and health-behavior change models. This longitudinal study examined the contribution of risk factors associated with job stress to the intention-planning-FVC relationship. In the context of the Health Action Process Approach, action planning (when-where-how plans) and coping planning (plans to overcome anticipated barriers) have been shown to be successful mediators in the translation of health-related intentions into action. Risk factors for job stress are operationalized as the interaction of job demands and job resources in line with the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. Two hundred seventy-two employees (mean age 41.2 years, 73.9% female) from different jobs completed measures of intention at baseline (t1), action planning and coping planning 2 weeks later (t2), and FVC another 2 weeks later (t3). Job demands and job resources were assessed at t1 and t2. A moderated mediation analysis indicated that risk factors for job stress moderate the translation of intention into action planning (B = -0.23, p < .05) and coping planning (B = -0.14, p < .05). No moderation effect of the planning-FVC relationship by risk factors for job stress was found. However, coping planning directly predicted FVC (B = 0.36, p < .001). Findings suggest that employees intending to eat healthily use action planning and coping planning when job demands exceed job resources. For increasing FVC, coping planning appears most beneficial.
authors.affiliation: Universität Trier.
authors.forename: Daniel P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Fodor
authors.affiliation: Work and Organizational Psychology, Universität Trier.
authors.forename: Conny H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Antoni
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin.
authors.forename: Amelie U
authors.initials: AU
authors.lastname: Wiedemann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
authors.forename: Silke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burkert
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014937:Work / Q000523:psychology*