Correlates of health screening utilization: The roles of health beliefs and self-regulation motivation

Health screening for early detection of illness is a central issue in health promotion, but adherence to health screening recommendations falls far short of optium levels. The present research sought to identify individual difference factors that are associated with health screening behavior. A total of 252 asymptomatic individuals were invited to participate in one of four screening programs: a dental checkup, blood pressure measurement and cholesterol testing, pap smear, or mammography, and to participate in a study requiring the completion of questionnaires. 137 (54%) of those invited attended a screening session and 115 (46%) did not attend. Factors to explain health screening behavior were derived from the health belief model (Becker, 1974) and included susceptibility, severity, benefits, and barriers beliefs, and from self-regulation theory (Leventhal, 1970), including danger control and fear control motivation. Both cognitive (e.g. health beliefs) and emotional (e.g. reassurance) factors were found to explain health screening participation. Each theoretical model investigated contributed significantly to explaining health screening behavior, and they cumulatively explained 30% - 69% of the variance in attendance. Finally, the study showed that health screening behavior is highly specific, each screening program characterized by a particular set of beliefs and its own set of predictor variables. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.