Self-Regulation in Health Behavior

This text offers a comprehensive overview of new approaches to health-related behaviour from a self-regulation perspective. The authors outline the assumptions on which self-regulation theories are based, discuss recent research and draw out the implications for practice with a particular focus on changing health behaviour. The book is arranged in two sections – Goal Setting and Goal Activation in Health Behaviour and Goal Striving and Goal Persistence. The epilogue compares self-regulation theories with the prevailing social-cognitive models.

Denise T.D. de Ridder, Ph.D. is professor of Health Psychology at Utrecht University (The Netherlands) and scientific director of the Dutch Research Institute for Psychology and Health. Her research focuses on topics at the interface of coping and self-regulation with an emphasis on self-care behavior and adherence in chronic illness and eating and overweight in healthy individuals. She is co-editor of Psychology and Health and associate editor of Health Psychology Review.

John B.F. de Wit, Ph.D. is associate professor of Social Psychology of Health at Utrecht University (The Netherlands), and executive director of the master program in psychology at Utrecht University. His research interests encompass determinants of health behavior and strategies of change, and combine cognitive, motivational and volitional approaches to self-regulation. He has a longstanding involvement in the domains of sexuality and health, emphasizing the promotion as well as the maintenance of protective behaviors in vulnerable populations. Other work is concerned with motivational processes in risk perception and persuasion.