The Promise of Well-Being Interventions for Improving Health Risk Behaviors
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TOBACCO USE AND LIFESTYLE (HA TINDLE, SECTION EDITOR)
The Promise of Well-Being Interventions for Improving Health Risk Behaviors Julia K. Boehm & Loryana L. Vie & Laura D. Kubzansky
Published online: 27 September 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012
Abstract Accumulating evidence suggests that positive psychological well-being (e.g., optimism, life satisfaction) is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. One possible explanation for this association is that individuals with greater positive psychological well-being tend to engage in health behaviors that are relevant to the prevention of cardiovascular disease (e.g., exercising, eating a healthy diet, avoiding smoking). If positive psychological well-being actually precedes and induces healthy behaviors such that it is a true causal factor, then well-being may be a useful target for intervention. In this article, we briefly review evidence linking well-being with health behaviors. We also describe possible strategies to enhance well-being (e.g., expressing gratitude, mindfulness meditation) and evaluate how effective such strategies may be for fostering behavior change. Keywords Cardiovascular disease . Positive psychological well-being . Optimism . Gratitude . Positive emotions . Health behaviors . Physical activity . Exercise . Diet . Food consumption . Cigarette smoking . Behavior change . Intervention J. K. Boehm (*) : L. D. Kubzansky (*) Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA J. K. Boehm e-mail: [email protected] L. D. Kubzansky e-mail: [email protected] L. L. Vie Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA e-mail: [email protected]
Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States [1]. Researchers have identified numerous factors that increase risk (e.g., obesity), but less attention has been paid to factors that decrease risk for CVD. Accumulating evidence suggests that greater levels of positive psychological well-being (PPWB) – that is, the positive feelings, thoughts, and expectations that a person has toward his or her life – may reduce CVD risk [2••]. For example, in one prospective study of nearly 100,000 women initially free from CVD, optimistic individuals had up to a 30% reduced risk of incident heart disease or heart diseaserelated mortality approximately eight years later [3]. Researchers have theorized that different types of PPWB such as positive emotions, life satisfaction, optimism, and meaning in life may be linked with CVD via a behavioral pathway [2••, 4–6]. That is, relative to those with lower levels of well-being, those with higher levels may be more likely to engage in heart-healthy behaviors such as exercising and eating a balanced diet. In turn, such behaviors may lessen or delay an individual’s risk for CVD. PPWB may encourage healthy behaviors because it can help individuals cope with stre
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