THE RELATIONSHIP OF HEALTH VALUE AND HARDINESS TO HEALTH-PROMOTING BEHAVIOR IN NURSES.
Contributors: New York University.
Published: 1991
Number of pages: 119
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Health-promoting rather than risk-reduction behavior is the focus of an increasing amount of health related research. Pender's Health Promotion Model provided the framework for this study which examined the relationship of health value and hardiness to health-promoting behavior as measured by the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP). Hardiness was seen as being similar to the cognitive/perceptual factors of self-efficacy and control which had been identified by Pender.

A sample of 148 employed female registered nurses under the age of 55 completed the Health Value Scale, the Health Related Hardiness Scale (HRHS), the HPLP, and a Biographical Data Sheet. The first hypothesis, predicting a positive relationship between health value and health-promoting behavior, was not supported. The second hypothesis, predicting a positive relationship between hardiness and health-promoting behavior in nurses, was supported (r = $-$.512, p $<$.001). The third hypothesis, predicting that health value and hardiness together would account for more of the variance in health-promoting behavior than either variable alone, was not supported.

Additional variables accounted for approximately 10% of the variance in HPLP scores. A multiple regression determined that over and above hardiness, which accounted for 26% of the variance in health-promoting behavior, marital status and health status contributed 3.7% and 2.7% respectively. Individuals who were high in the characteristic of hardiness, were married, and perceived their health status as excellent engaged in a greater number of health-promoting behaviors.

Hardiness emerged as the strongest predictor of health-promoting behavior; perceived health status, which Pender identified as an additional cognitive/perceptual factor, was also found to be related to HPLP scores. These findings help to extend the previous research using the Health Promotion Model and add to the body of knowledge related to the development of two relatively new instruments, the Health Related Hardiness Scale and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-06, Section: B, page: 2996.

Thesis (PH.D.)--NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, 1991.

School code: 0146.