ADOLESCENT HEALTH-THREATENING AND HEALTH-ENHANCING BEHAVIORS - A STUDY OF WORD-ASSOCIATION AND IMAGERY

Purpose: To examine the ways in which perceived risks and benefits rel ate to health-threatening and health-enhancing behaviors by adolescent s. Method: The study used a word association methodology to explore ad olescents' thoughts and affective feelings associated with five health -threatening behaviors (e.g., drinking beer, smoking cigarettes) and t hree health-enhancing behaviors (e.g., exercising, using a seat belt). Results: Each behavior elicited a mix of positive and negative associ ations. Health-threatening behaviors had many positive associations in common, such as having fun, social facilitation, and physiological ar ousal. Health-enhancing behaviors had much less commonality in their p ositive associations. Patterns of negative associations were not highl y similar across behaviors. The content and affective tone of the asso ciations were closely linked to participation in health-threatening be haviors and health-enhancing behaviors. Participants in an activity we re far more likely than nonparticipants to associate that activity wit h positive outcomes, concepts, and affect and less likely to produce n egative associations. Conclusions: The word association methodology pr ovides a useful-technique for exploring adolescents' cognitions and af fective reactions with regard to health-related behaviors. The data pr ovided by this method have implications for prevention and interventio n programs, as well as for future research.