Developing a Taxonomy of Dyadic Behavior Change Techniques

Health-enhancing behaviors such as being physically active, eating healthily, or using condoms as well as health-compromising behaviors such as smoking or excessive alcohol consumption often have a social component. Likewise, a growing literature documents the importance of the social context in shaping health behavior change. Particularly for one of the closest personal relationships during the adult lifespan, the relationship with a romantic partner, researchers have produced a large number of theories and empirical findings to better understand the protective effect of close relationships on health. The specific processes underlying the powerful effect of romantic relationships on health are still far from understood. The majority of behavior change techniques identified in existing taxonomies are at the level of the individual (e.g., goal setting, self-monitoring), and intervention techniques involving any form of interaction with a non-professional dyad member (i.e. dyadic behavior change techniques) are underrepresented or not well differentiated. Thus, to understand dyadic processes in health behavior change, a systematic and reliable identification of dyadic behavior change techniques presents an important next step. The proposed Lead Agency project “Developing a Taxonomy of Dyadic Behavior Change Techniques” strives to tackle this issue.

健康促进行为，诸如身体活动、健康饮食或使用安全套，以及健康损害行为，例如吸烟或过量饮酒，往往具有社会性成分。同样，越来越多的文献记载了社会背景在塑造健康行为改变中的重要性。特别是在成年期密切的个人关系中，即与浪漫伴侣的关系，研究者们已经提出了大量理论和实证研究，以更好地理解亲密关系对健康的保护作用。然而，浪漫关系对健康产生的强大影响背后的具体过程仍然远未得到充分理解。在现有的分类法中，识别出的多数行为改变技术均处于个体层面（例如，目标设定、自我监控），而涉及与非专业人士的配对成员任何形式互动的干预技术（即二元行为改变技术）则代表性不足或缺乏清晰的区分。因此，为了理解健康行为改变中的二元过程，系统地可靠地识别二元行为改变技术成为了一个重要的下一步。拟议的牵头机构项目“开发二元行为改变技术分类法”致力于解决这一问题。