The effects of social-cognitive variables on preventive nutrition and behavioral intentions were studied in 580 adults at 2 points in time. The authors hypothesized that optimistic self-beliefs operate in 2 phases and made a distinction between action self-efficacy (preintention) and coping self-efficacy (pmtintantion). Risk perceptions, outcome expectancies, and action self-efficacy were specified as predictors of the intention at Wave 1. Behavioral intention and coping serf-efficacy served as mediatcn linking the 3 predictors with low-fat and high-fiber dietary intake 6 months later at Wave 2. Covariance structure analysis yielded a good model fit for the total sample and 6 subsamples created by a median split of 3 moderators: gender, age, and body weight. Parameter estimates differed between samples; the importance of perceived self-efficacy increased with age and weight.Key words: health cognitions, risk appraisals, self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, preventive nutrition, body weightThe Berlin Risk Appraisal and Health Motivation Study (BRAHMS) was designed to examine the social-cognitive determinants of health behaviors, such as physical exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, and preventive nutrition. In the study reported in this article, our focus is on self-reported nutrition. Eating a healthy diet low in saturated fat and high in fiber is a common medical recommendation. According to current medical knowledge, such nutrition helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and other ailments. However, most people do not adhere to this advice, and many have not even developed an explicit intention to adopt it, Three factors specified by social-cognitive health behavior theodes were considered as possible predictors: (a) risk appraisals, defined as one's perceived vulnerability compared to that of others; Co) behavior-specific outcome expectancies (i.e., expected benefits of preventive nutrition); and (c) self-efficacy befiefs in the face of obstacles and barriers to adopt health behaviors. Moreover, the roles of gender, age, and body weight were examined.Ralf Schwa, Gesundeheitspsychologie, Freie Universitat Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Britta Rennet, Department of Psychology, Emst-MoritzArndt-Universi~t C_neifswald, Griefswald, Germany.This research was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinsehaft and the Techniker Krankenkasse for Berlin ond Brandenburg. We thank Andr6 Hahn and Thomas yon Lengerke for their collaboration on this project and Barbel Kntiuper, Gerdemarie SchmRz, and Lars Satow for their helpful comments on the first dra~.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ralf Schwarzer, Gesundheitspsychologie, Freie Universittit Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany. Electronic mail may be sent to health @ zedat fu-berlin.de. Perceived Self-Efficacy and Preventive NutritionThe construct of self-efficacy represents one core aspect of social-cognitive theory (Bandura, 1997). Whereas outcome expectancies refer to the perception of the possible consequences of o...

a b s t r a c tUnderstanding why people select certain food items in everyday life is crucial for the creation of interventions to promote normal eating and to prevent the development of obesity and eating disorders. The Eating Motivation Survey (TEMS) was developed within a frame of three different studies. In Study 1, a total of 331 motives for eating behavior were generated on the basis of different data sources (previous research, nutritionist interviews, and expert discussions). In Study 2, 1250 respondents were provided with a set of motives from Study 1 and the Eating Motivation Survey was finalized. In Study 3, a sample of 1040 participants filled in the Eating Motivation Survey. Confirmatory factor analysis with fifteen factors for food choice yielded a satisfactory model fit for a full (78 items) and brief survey version (45 items) with RMSEA .048 and .037, 90% CI .047-.049 and .035-.039, respectively. Factor structure was generally invariant across random selected groups, gender, and BMI, which indicates a high stability for the Eating Motivation Survey. On the mean level, however, significant differences in motivation for food choice associated with gender, age, and BMI emerged. Implications of the fifteen distinct motivations to choose foods in everyday life are discussed.

A growing number of people use the Internet to obtain health information, including information about vaccines. Websites that allow and promote interaction among users are an increasingly popular source of health information. Users of such so-called Web 2.0 applications (e.g. social media), while still in the minority, represent a growing proportion of online communicators, including vocal and active anti-vaccination groups as well as public health communicators. In this paper, the authors: define Web 2.0 and examine how it may influence vaccination decisions; discuss how anti-vaccination movements use Web 2.0 as well as the challenges Web 2.0 holds for public health communicators; describe the types of information used in these different settings; introduce the theoretical background that can be used to design effective vaccination communication in a Web 2.0 environment; make recommendations for practice and pose open questions for future research. The authors conclude that, as a result of the Internet and Web 2.0, private and public concerns surrounding vaccinations have the potential to virally spread across the globe in a quick, efficient and vivid manner. Web 2.0 may influence vaccination decisions by delivering information that alters the perceived personal risk of vaccine-preventable diseases or vaccination side-effects. It appears useful for public health officials to put effort into increasing the effectiveness of existing communication by implementing interactive, customized communication. A key step to providing successful public health communication is to identify those who are particularly vulnerable to finding and using unreliable and misleading information. Thus, it appears worthwhile that public health websites strive to be easy to find, easy to use, attractive in its presentation and readily provide the information, support and advice that the searcher is looking for. This holds especially when less knowledgeable individuals are in need of reliable information about vaccination risks and benefits.

Social cognition models of health behavior are commonly understood as being universal, which implies that they are applicable to groups varying in age or cultural background, for example. Cultural uniqueness and characteristics of life-span development, however, necessitate the study of differential effects. Accordingly, the health action process approach (HAPA) was examined in younger and middle-aged/ older adults from South Korea (N ϭ 697) who participated in a longitudinal health screening study with a 6-month time lag. The HAPA model had a good fit within the middle-aged/older adult sample. Physical activity was predicted by planning, coping self-efficacy, and intention, which were, in turn, predicted by action self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and risk perceptions. Conversely, the results indicated a poor model fit in the younger adult sample. The results suggest a different motivation for the involvement in physical activity as a function of age.

Curiosity refers to the desire for acquiring new information. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire to assess social curiosity, that is, interest in how other people think, feel, and behave. The questionnaire was administered to 312 participants. Factor analyses of the 10-item Social Curiosity Scale (SCS) yielded 2 factors: General Social Curiosity and Covert Social Curiosity. Evidence of convergent validity was provided by moderately high correlations of the SCS with other measures of curiosity and self-perceived curiosity, whereas discriminant validity was demonstrated by low correlations of the SCS with other personality traits, such as neuroticism and agreeableness. Of interest, social interaction anxiety was observed to facilitate covert social curiosity while inhibiting general social curiosity.