Academic Journal
Health uncertainty: Scale development and its effect on health behaviors.
| Τίτλος: | Health uncertainty: Scale development and its effect on health behaviors. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Ren R; China University of Geosciences (Beijing), China., Tao S; China University of Geosciences (Beijing), China., Ouyang Y; China University of Geosciences (Beijing), China., Du W; Nottingham Trent University, UK. |
| Πηγή: | Journal of health psychology [J Health Psychol] 2026 Sep; Vol. 31 (11), pp. 4547-4562. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jan 13. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Sage Publications Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9703616 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1461-7277 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 13591053 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Health Psychol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: London ; Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage Publications, 1996- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Anxiety*/psychology , Psychometrics*/instrumentation , Health Behavior* , Health Status*, Surveys and Questionnaires/standards ; Humans ; Uncertainty ; Female ; Male ; China ; Adult ; Reproducibility of Results ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult |
| Περίληψη: | While health-related awareness has been extensively studied, the concept of health uncertainty in the general population remains inadequately conceptualized and operationalized. This study aims to develop a conceptual framework and measurement tool for health uncertainty, and to examine its associations with health anxiety and health behaviors. The research comprised two studies conducted in China. Study 1 developed and validated a health uncertainty scale using data from 709 participants. The scale, which comprises dimensions of health status uncertainty, health changes unpredictability, and health threat and information ambiguity, demonstrated good reliability and validity. Study 2 employed a questionnaire-based approach with 345 participants and showed that health uncertainty negatively predicted health behaviors, with health anxiety acting as a mediator. The findings highlight the impact of health uncertainty on psychological and behavioral responses, emphasizing the need for strategies to reduce uncertainty during public health crises to promote healthier behaviors and achieve public health goals. |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: health anxiety; health behaviors; health status uncertainty; health uncertainty; uncertainty management |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260113 Date Completed: 20260821 Latest Revision: 20260824 |
| Update Code: | 20260824 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/13591053251405156 |
| PMID: | 41527502 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
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