Can latent true changes in intention, planning, and self-efficacy account for latent change in two health behaviors (physical activity as well as fruit and vegetable intake)? Baseline data on predictors and behaviors and corresponding follow-up data four weeks later were collected from 853 participants. Interindividual differences in change and change—change associations were analyzed using structural equation modeling. For both behaviors, similar prediction patterns were found: changes in intention and self-efficacy predicted changes in planning, which in turn corresponded to changes in behavior. This evidence confirms that change predicts change, which is an inherent precondition in behavior change theories.
Ajzen, I. ( 1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211.
2.
Bandura, A. ( 1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
3.
Baumeister, R.F., Heatherton, T.F., & Tice, D.M. ( 1993). When ego threats lead to self-regulation failure: Negative consequences of high self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 141-156.
4.
Bernstein, M., Sloutskis, D., Kumanyika, S., Sparti, A., Schutz, Y., & Morabia, A. ( 1998). Data-based approach for developing a Physical Activity Frequency Questionnaire. American Journal of Epidemiology , 147, 147-156.
5.
Courneya, K.S. ( 1994). Predicting repeated behavior from intention: The issue of scale correspondence. Journal of Applied Social Psychology , 24, 580-594.
6.
Eid, M., Schneider, C., & Schwenkmezger, P. (1999). Do you feel better or worse? The validity of perceived deviations of mood states from mood traits . European Journal of Personality, 13, 283-306.
7.
Gollwitzer, P.M., & Sheeran, P. ( 2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 249-268.
8.
Gutiérrez-Doña, B., Lippke, S., Renner, B., Kwon, S., & Schwarzer , R. (2009). How self-efficacy and planning predict dietary behaviors in Costa Rican and South Korean women: A moderated mediation analysis. Applied Psychology: Health & Well-Being, 1, 91-104.
9.
Heckhausen, H., & Gollwitzer, P.M. (1987). Thought contents and cognitive functioning in motivational vs. volitional states of mind. Motivation & Emotion, 11, 101-120.
10.
Lippke, S., Wiedemann, A.U., Ziegelmann, J.P., Reuter, T., & Schwarzer, R. ( 2009). Self-efficacy moderates the mediation of intentions into behavior via plans. American Journal of Health Behavior, 33, 521-529.
11.
Lippke, S., & Ziegelmann, J.P. (2008). Theory-based health behavior change: Developing, testing, and applying theories for evidence-based interventions . Applied Psychology: An International Review, 57, 689-716.
12.
Luszczynska, A., & Schwarzer, R. ( 2003). Planning and self-efficacy in the adoption and maintenance of breast self-examination: A longitudinal study on self-regulatory cognitions . Psychology & Health, 18, 93-108.
13.
MacKinnon, D.P., Lockwood, C.M., & Williams, J. ( 2004). Confidence limits for the indirect effect: Distribution of the product and resampling methods. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 39, 99-128.
14.
Meredith, W. ( 1993). Measurement invariance, factor analysis and factorial invariance. Psychometrika, 58, 525-543.
Nesselroade, J.R., & Ghisletta, P. ( 2000). Beyond static concepts in modeling behavior. In L. R. Bergman & R. B. Cairns (Eds.), Developmental science and the holistic approach (pp. 121-135). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum .
17.
Rademacher, J.D.M., & Lippke, S. ( 2007). Dynamic online surveys and experiments with the free open source software dynQuest. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 415-426.
18.
Reuter, T., Ziegelmann, J.P., Lippke, S., & Schwarzer, R. ( 2009). Long-term relations between intentions, planning and exercise: A three-year longitudinal study in orthopedic rehabilitation. Rehabilitation Psychology, 54, 363-371.
19.
Reuter, T., Ziegelmann, J.P., Wiedemann, A.U., & Lippke, S. ( 2008). Dietary planning as a mediator of the intention- behavior relation: An experimental-causal-chain design. Special Issue on Health and Well-Being of Applied Psychology: An International Review, 57, 194-297.
20.
Schafer, J.L., & Graham, J.W. ( 2002). Missing data: Our view of the state of the art. Psychological Methods, 7, 147-177.
21.
Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Test of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures . Methods of Psychological Research-Online, 8, 23-74.
22.
Scholz, U., Nagy, G., Göhner, W., Luszczynska, A., & Kliegel, M. ( 2009). Changes in self-regulatory cognitions as predictors of changes in smoking and nutrition behaviour. Psychology & Health, 24, 545-561.
23.
Scholz, U., Sniehotta, F.F., & Schwarzer, R. ( 2005). Predicting physical exercise in cardiac rehabilitation: The role of phase-specific self-efficacy beliefs. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 27, 135-151.
24.
Schüz, B., Sniehotta, F.F., & Schwarzer, R. ( 2007). Stage-specific effects of an action control intervention on dental flossing. Health Education Research, 22, 332-341.
25.
Schwarzer, R. ( 2008). Modeling health behavior change: How to predict and modify the adoption and maintenance of health behaviors. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 57(1), 1-29.
26.
Schwarzer, R., Luszczynska, A., Ziegelmann, J.P., Scholz, U., & Lippke, S. ( 2008). Social-cognitive predictors of physical exercise adherence: Three longitudinal studies in rehabilitation. Health Psychology , 27(1, Suppl.), S54-S63.
27.
Siconolfi, S.F., Lasater, T.M., Snow, R.C., & Carleton, R.A. (1985). Self-reported physical activity compared with maximal oxygen uptake. American Journal of Epidemiology, 122, 101-105.
28.
Sniehotta, F.F. ( 2009). Towards a theory of intentional behaviour change: Plans, planning, and self-regulation. British Journal of Health Psychology , 14, 261-273.
29.
Sniehotta, F.F., Nagy, G., Scholz, U., & Schwarzer, R. ( 2006). The role of action control in implementing intentions during the first weeks of behaviour change. British Journal of Social Psychology, 45, 87-106.
30.
Sniehotta, F.F., Scholz, U., & Schwarzer, R. ( 2006). Action plans and coping plans for physical exercise: A longitudinal intervention study in cardiac rehabilitation. British Journal of Health Psychology, 11, 23-37.
31.
Steptoe, A., Perkins-Porras, L., McKay, C., Rink, E., Hilton, S., & Cappuccio, F.P. (2003). Psychological factors associated with fruit and vegetable intake and with biomarkers in adults from a low-income neighborhood. Health Psychology, 22, 148-155.
32.
Steyer, R., Eid, M., & Schwenkmezger, P. (1997). Modeling true intraindividual change: True change as a latent variable. Methods of Psychological Research- Online, 2, 21-33.
33.
Steyer, R., Ferring, D., & Schmitt, M. ( 1992). States and traits in psychological assessment. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 8, 79-98.
34.
Steyer, R., Partchev, I., & Shanahan, M. ( 2000). Modeling true intra-individual change in structural equation models: The case of poverty and children’s psychosocial adjustment. In T. D. Little, K. U. Schnabel, & J. Baumert (Eds.), Modeling longitudinal and multiple-group data: Practical issues, applied approaches, and specific examples (pp. 109-126). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
35.
Sutton, S. ( 2002). Testing attitude-behaviour theories using non-experimental data: An examination of some hidden assumptions. European Review of Social Psychology, 13, 293-323.
36.
Ziegelmann, J.P., Lippke, S., & Schwarzer, R. ( 2006). Adoption and maintenance of physical activity: Planning interventions in young, middle-aged, and older adults. Psychology & Health, 21, 145-163.
37.
Ziegelmann, J.P., Luszczynska, A., Lippke, S., & Schwarzer, R. ( 2007). Are goal intentions or implementation intentions better predictors of health behavior? A longitudinal study in orthopedic rehabilitation . Rehabilitation Psychology, 52, 97-102.
