Document Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
A potential determinant of health behaviors among individuals is their perceived susceptibility and perceived severity of chronic illness. Little research has been done in the past focusing on individual perceptions of susceptibility and severity to the four most common chronic illnesses and how these perceptions may affect individual's health behaviors. Given the lack of research in this area, one can speculate that individuals who rank themselves high on severity and susceptibility may engage in more physical activity. Or perhaps the converse, they engage in less physical activity because they feel they have no control over the chronic illness (e.g., cancer). To examine these speculations, over 85 participants were assessed on their perceived susceptibility to and severity of the four most common chronic illnesses on a ten point Likert Scale. Participants' physical activity levels were assessed through the Physical Activity Recall, a semi-structured interview. The results of this research have implications for altering health behaviors.
Publication Date
2003
Journal Title
Conference Proceedings: Undergraduate Social Science Research Conference
Volume
7
Issue
1
First Page
84
Last Page
84
Copyright
©2003 by the University of Northern Iowa
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Publisher
University of Northern Iowa
City
Cedar Falls, IA
Recommended Citation
Harden, Jennifer; Parr, Emily; and Brown, Seth
(2003)
"Percieved Susceptibility and Severity of Chronic Illness in Physical Activity,"
Conference Proceedings: Undergraduate Social Science Research Conference: Vol. 7:
Iss.
1, Article 17.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/csbsproceedings/vol7/iss1/17
