Positive Psychological Constructs and Lifestyle Behaviours in a Community-Based Sample

Mirela Habibovic; Emma Douma; Isabel Slurink; Willem Johan Kop; Sabita Soedamah-Muthu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12

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Positive Psychological Constructs and Lifestyle Behaviours in a Community-Based Sample

Mirela Habibovic, Emma Douma, Isabel Slurink, Willem Johan Kop, Sabita Soedamah-Muthu

Published in Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (Volume 11, Issue 6)

Received: 13 July 2022 Accepted: 29 July 2022 Published: 29 November 2022

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Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated an association between positive psychological constructs and health behaviours. However, there is evidence to suggest that these constructs might relate differently to different health behaviours, serving both as facilitators and barriers depending on the health behaviour that is selected. The current study taps into this association by examining the role of multiple positive constructs (psychological flexibility, optimism, mindfulness and trait happiness) in relation to multiple health behaviours and constructs (smoking, alcohol consumption, Body Mass Index (BMI), and physical activity levels) in a large community-based sample. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Dutch volunteers from the general population. A total of 859 participants completed questionnaires to assess positive constructs and health behaviours. Cox Regression was used to answer the research question. The sample had a mean age of 48.2 ± 16.8, and consisted of 447 (52%) female participants. The results showed that psychological flexibility was positively associated with physical activity levels in age- and sex-adjusted models. Optimism was associated with a higher BMI. After adjusting for covariates both associations became non-significant. While a trend was observed, current findings indicate that positive constructs are not strongly related to health behaviours in a healthy adult sample. More research is needed to disentangle these associations and to evaluate whether this information can inform future development of interventions. The findings are to some extent in line with previous studies showing that positive constructs might be a facilitator and barrier towards health behaviour change.

Published in	Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (Volume 11, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12
Page(s)	185-192
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Positive Psychology, Lifestyle, Health Behaviour, Optimism, Psychological Flexibility

References

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APA Style

Mirela Habibovic, Emma Douma, Isabel Slurink, Willem Johan Kop, Sabita Soedamah-Muthu. (2022). Positive Psychological Constructs and Lifestyle Behaviours in a Community-Based Sample. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 11(6), 185-192. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12

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ACS Style

Mirela Habibovic; Emma Douma; Isabel Slurink; Willem Johan Kop; Sabita Soedamah-Muthu. Positive Psychological Constructs and Lifestyle Behaviours in a Community-Based Sample. Psychol. Behav. Sci. 2022, 11(6), 185-192. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12

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AMA Style

Mirela Habibovic, Emma Douma, Isabel Slurink, Willem Johan Kop, Sabita Soedamah-Muthu. Positive Psychological Constructs and Lifestyle Behaviours in a Community-Based Sample. Psychol Behav Sci. 2022;11(6):185-192. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12

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@article{10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12,
  author = {Mirela Habibovic and Emma Douma and Isabel Slurink and Willem Johan Kop and Sabita Soedamah-Muthu},
  title = {Positive Psychological Constructs and Lifestyle Behaviours in a Community-Based Sample},
  journal = {Psychology and Behavioral Sciences},
  volume = {11},
  number = {6},
  pages = {185-192},
  doi = {10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.pbs.20221106.12},
  abstract = {Previous studies have demonstrated an association between positive psychological constructs and health behaviours. However, there is evidence to suggest that these constructs might relate differently to different health behaviours, serving both as facilitators and barriers depending on the health behaviour that is selected. The current study taps into this association by examining the role of multiple positive constructs (psychological flexibility, optimism, mindfulness and trait happiness) in relation to multiple health behaviours and constructs (smoking, alcohol consumption, Body Mass Index (BMI), and physical activity levels) in a large community-based sample. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Dutch volunteers from the general population. A total of 859 participants completed questionnaires to assess positive constructs and health behaviours. Cox Regression was used to answer the research question. The sample had a mean age of 48.2 ± 16.8, and consisted of 447 (52%) female participants. The results showed that psychological flexibility was positively associated with physical activity levels in age- and sex-adjusted models. Optimism was associated with a higher BMI. After adjusting for covariates both associations became non-significant. While a trend was observed, current findings indicate that positive constructs are not strongly related to health behaviours in a healthy adult sample. More research is needed to disentangle these associations and to evaluate whether this information can inform future development of interventions. The findings are to some extent in line with previous studies showing that positive constructs might be a facilitator and barrier towards health behaviour change.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Positive Psychological Constructs and Lifestyle Behaviours in a Community-Based Sample
AU - Mirela Habibovic
AU - Emma Douma
AU - Isabel Slurink
AU - Willem Johan Kop
AU - Sabita Soedamah-Muthu
Y1 - 2022/11/29
PY - 2022
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12
DO - 10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12
T2 - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
JF - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
JO - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
SP - 185
EP - 192
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2328-7845
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12
AB - Previous studies have demonstrated an association between positive psychological constructs and health behaviours. However, there is evidence to suggest that these constructs might relate differently to different health behaviours, serving both as facilitators and barriers depending on the health behaviour that is selected. The current study taps into this association by examining the role of multiple positive constructs (psychological flexibility, optimism, mindfulness and trait happiness) in relation to multiple health behaviours and constructs (smoking, alcohol consumption, Body Mass Index (BMI), and physical activity levels) in a large community-based sample. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Dutch volunteers from the general population. A total of 859 participants completed questionnaires to assess positive constructs and health behaviours. Cox Regression was used to answer the research question. The sample had a mean age of 48.2 ± 16.8, and consisted of 447 (52%) female participants. The results showed that psychological flexibility was positively associated with physical activity levels in age- and sex-adjusted models. Optimism was associated with a higher BMI. After adjusting for covariates both associations became non-significant. While a trend was observed, current findings indicate that positive constructs are not strongly related to health behaviours in a healthy adult sample. More research is needed to disentangle these associations and to evaluate whether this information can inform future development of interventions. The findings are to some extent in line with previous studies showing that positive constructs might be a facilitator and barrier towards health behaviour change.
VL - 11
IS - 6
ER -

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Author Information

Mirela Habibovic

Center of Research on Psychological Disorders and Somatic Diseases (CoRPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Emma Douma

Center of Research on Psychological Disorders and Somatic Diseases (CoRPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Isabel Slurink

Center of Research on Psychological Disorders and Somatic Diseases (CoRPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Willem Johan Kop

Center of Research on Psychological Disorders and Somatic Diseases (CoRPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Sabita Soedamah-Muthu

Center of Research on Psychological Disorders and Somatic Diseases (CoRPS), Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

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APA Style

Mirela Habibovic, Emma Douma, Isabel Slurink, Willem Johan Kop, Sabita Soedamah-Muthu. (2022). Positive Psychological Constructs and Lifestyle Behaviours in a Community-Based Sample. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 11(6), 185-192. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12

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ACS Style

Mirela Habibovic; Emma Douma; Isabel Slurink; Willem Johan Kop; Sabita Soedamah-Muthu. Positive Psychological Constructs and Lifestyle Behaviours in a Community-Based Sample. Psychol. Behav. Sci. 2022, 11(6), 185-192. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12

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AMA Style

Mirela Habibovic, Emma Douma, Isabel Slurink, Willem Johan Kop, Sabita Soedamah-Muthu. Positive Psychological Constructs and Lifestyle Behaviours in a Community-Based Sample. Psychol Behav Sci. 2022;11(6):185-192. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12

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@article{10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12,
  author = {Mirela Habibovic and Emma Douma and Isabel Slurink and Willem Johan Kop and Sabita Soedamah-Muthu},
  title = {Positive Psychological Constructs and Lifestyle Behaviours in a Community-Based Sample},
  journal = {Psychology and Behavioral Sciences},
  volume = {11},
  number = {6},
  pages = {185-192},
  doi = {10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20221106.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.pbs.20221106.12},
  abstract = {Previous studies have demonstrated an association between positive psychological constructs and health behaviours. However, there is evidence to suggest that these constructs might relate differently to different health behaviours, serving both as facilitators and barriers depending on the health behaviour that is selected. The current study taps into this association by examining the role of multiple positive constructs (psychological flexibility, optimism, mindfulness and trait happiness) in relation to multiple health behaviours and constructs (smoking, alcohol consumption, Body Mass Index (BMI), and physical activity levels) in a large community-based sample. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Dutch volunteers from the general population. A total of 859 participants completed questionnaires to assess positive constructs and health behaviours. Cox Regression was used to answer the research question. The sample had a mean age of 48.2 ± 16.8, and consisted of 447 (52%) female participants. The results showed that psychological flexibility was positively associated with physical activity levels in age- and sex-adjusted models. Optimism was associated with a higher BMI. After adjusting for covariates both associations became non-significant. While a trend was observed, current findings indicate that positive constructs are not strongly related to health behaviours in a healthy adult sample. More research is needed to disentangle these associations and to evaluate whether this information can inform future development of interventions. The findings are to some extent in line with previous studies showing that positive constructs might be a facilitator and barrier towards health behaviour change.},
 year = {2022}
}

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