Defining the Construct of Health Behavior Maintenance

Prior research on health behavior maintenance has proposed several key constructs that distinguish this concept from initiation. Initiation is thought to depend upon action self-efficacy, goal setting, and outcome expectations. Maintenance, on the other hand, depends upon self-regulation, relapse prevention, recovery self-efficacy, and satisfaction with original outcome expectations. Although much prior research has focused on cognitive components of maintenance, there has been little attention to how higher-order cognitive processing and decision-making may be challenging for some older adults. This presentation will discuss a proposed conceptual model of health behavior maintenance, specifically as this construct applies to older adults. Special consideration will be given to how both normative and non-normative age-related changes (e.g., physical, cognitive, psychosocial) impact maintenance and how such changes might influence older adults’ goals and outcome expectations. Finally, individual-level maintenance will be discussed within a larger context of program sustainability at community and population levels.