Skip to main content
Home / American Journal of Health Behavior, Volume 36, Number 3

Spiritual Health Locus of Control and Health Behaviors in African Americans

Buy Article:

$39.00 + tax (Refund Policy)

Objective: To examine relationships between spiritual health locus of control beliefs and various health behaviors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of a national sample of African Americans assessed spiritual beliefs, fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and alcohol consumption. Results: Active spiritual beliefs were positively associated with fruit consumption and negatively associated with alcohol consumption. Passive spiritual beliefs were associated with lower vegetable and increased alcohol consumption. Among male participants, passive spiritual beliefs were associated with higher alcohol consumption. Conclusions: Findings suggest that dimensions of spiritual health locus of control beliefs have complex and varying relationships with health behaviors.

Keywords: AFRICAN AMERICANS; HEALTH BEHAVIORS; SPIRITUAL HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL; SPIRITUALITY

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: University of Maryland, School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral and Community Health, College Park, MD, USA. [email protected] 2: University of Maryland, School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral and Community Health, College Park, MD, USA 3: Saint Louis University, Department of Psychology, St. Louis, MO, USA 4: University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Public Health, Birmingham, AL, USA 5: University of Alabama, Department of Psychology, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA 6: University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Medicine, Division of Preventive Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA

Publication date: 01 May 2012

More about this publication?

  • The American Journal of Health Behavior seeks to improve the quality of life through multidisciplinary health efforts in fostering a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of both individuals and social systems as they relate to health behaviors.

    The Journal aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of personal attributes, personality characteristics, behavior patterns, social structure, and processes on health maintenance, health restoration, and health improvement; to disseminate knowledge of holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to designing and implementing effective health programs; and to showcase health behavior analysis skills that have been proven to affect health improvement and recovery.

  • Editorial Board
  • Information for Authors
  • Submit a Paper
  • Subscribe to this Title
  • Review Board
  • Reprints and Permissions
  • Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites

Share Content

  • Access Key
  • Free content
  • Partial Free content
  • New content
  • Open access content
  • Partial Open access content
  • Subscribed content
  • Partial Subscribed content
  • Free trial content