The role of emotions in promoting and deterring health behaviours

Abstract

Background: Researchers often focus on the role of social-cognitive factors in promoting and deterring health behaviours. Across a series of studies, we assessed the impact of emotions on healthy eating (Study 1), testicular self-examination (Study 2), and breastfeeding (Study 3). Methods: All three studies used a correlational design. In Study 1 (N = 135), participants stated their healthy eating intention and behaviour, and the extent to which they anticipated feeling pride for eating healthy food, and regret, disgust and pleasure for eating unhealthy food. In Study 2 (N = 115), we asked men to rate the extent to which they anticipated feeling relief for checking and regret from not checking their testicles regularly, self-examination behaviour, and intention to self-examine in the future. In Study 3 (N = 375) we assessed the extent to which mothers felt pride for breastfeeding their child, anxieties surrounding breastfeeding and their baby feeding practices. All three studies used regression-based approaches to analyse the results. Findings: Across all three studies we found that positive emotions predicted health behaviours. In Study 1 anticipated pride positively and anticipated pleasure negatively predicted healthy eating intention. Similarly, in Study 2 anticipated relief positively predicted self-examination intention and behaviour. Finally, in Study 3 pride positively predicted while anxiety negatively predicted breastfeeding. Discussion: These studies suggest that it is important to assess the impact of emotions on health behaviours and for interventions to target these emotions.