Individual characteristics associated with perceptions of control over mortality risk and determinants of health effort

Abstract

People who believe they have greater control over health and longevity are typically more likely to invest in their long‐term health. Investigating individual differences in perceived control over risk and exploring different determinants of health effort may help to tailor health promotion programs to more effectively encourage healthy behaviors. From a sample of 1500 adults, we measured perceived control over 20 causes of death, overall perceived uncontrollable mortality risk (PUMR), state‐level optimism, self‐reported health effort, and the accuracy of estimations of avoidable deaths. We found individual differences in perceptions of control over specific causes of death based on age, gender, and income. PUMR was predicted by socioeconomic variables expected to influence exposure to risk and resource availability. Higher levels of PUMR, not perceptions of control over specific causes of death, predicted self‐reported health effort. The strength of relationship between PUMR and lower health effort was not moderated by state‐level optimism. Age and education both positively predicted greater accuracy in assessing the prevalence of avoidable deaths. We suggest that PUMR may capture people's “general sense” of mortality risk, influenced by both exposure to hazards and the availability of resources to avoid threats. Conversely, perceived control over specific risks may involve more deliberate, considered appraisals of risk. This general sense of risk is thought to play a more notable role in determining health behaviors than specific assessments of control over risk. Further study is needed to investigate the degree to which PUMR accurately reflects objective measures of individual risk.

The Relationship Between Perceived Uncontrollable Mortality Risk and Health Effort: Replication, Secondary Analysis, and Mini Meta-analysis

“…For our replication of Pepper and Nettle, we used data from Brown et al (2023), the findings from which are published in “ Individual characteristics associated with perceptions of control over mortality risk and determinants of health effort ” and “ Perceptions of control over different causes of death and the accuracy of risk estimations ” [ 21 , 22 ]. For these data, we recruited a nationally representative online sample of 1,500 UK participants via Prolific [prolific.com] (see Table 1 for sample characteristics).…”

“…More recently, an online survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,500 UK adults investigated the relationships between PUMR, health effort, and perceptions of control over specific causes of death [ 21 , 22 ]. The findings supported the previous negative relationship between PUMR and health effort.…”

The Uncontrollable Mortality Risk Hypothesis

“…Recent research into the drivers of perceived uncontrollable mortality risk suggests that it broadly reflects a ‘general sense’ of one’s environment that is influenced by perceived exposure to risk, as well as the level of personally available resources that someone has to avoid threats to their health and longevity [ 54 ]. Similarly, the 2023 Safety Perceptions Index (SPI) report found a rise in what it calls ‘ambiguous risk’—people’s general sense that risk exists in the world around them but cannot be precisely defined [ 84 ].…”