Abstract
Why do people fail to engage in positive behaviors which will promote their health and well-being? Researchers addressing this question adopt primarily one of two perspectives, drawing either on theories of health behavior, such as the Health Belief Model (HBM), or on theories of risk perception, such as unrealistic optimism. To overcome this compartmentalization, two studies of cancer screening behavior assessed the extent to which unrealistic optimism occurred in relation to each of the elements of the HBM: severity and curability of cancer and the benefits of, and barriers to, having a screening test. Data were collected using telephone interviews, dialing numbers randomly selected from the telephone directory. In the first study 164 women aged 50 to 70 years responded to questions about breast cancer and screening mammography, while in the second study 200 men aged 45 to 60 years responded to questions about prostate cancer and screening using the prostate specific antigen test. Women had an optimistic bias in relation to breast cancer risk and severity and barriers to having a screening mammogram but not in relation to the benefits of screening. For prostate cancer, there was an optimistic bias for all HBM variables: risk and severity of prostate cancer and barriers to and benefits of screening. It was concluded that unrealistic optimism is broader than perceived risk, being evident for all elements of the HBM.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Becker, H., and Maiman, L. A. (1975). Sociobehavioral determinants of compliance with health and medical care recommendations. Med. Care 13: 10-24.
Clarke, V. A., Hill, D., Rassaby, J., White, V., and Hirst, S. (1991). Determinants of continued breast-self-examination practice in women 40 years and over after personalized instruction. Health Educ. Res. Theory Pract. 6(3): 297-306.
Clarke, V. A., Williams, T., and Arthey, S. (1997). Skin type and optimistic bias in relation to the sun protection and suntanning behaviors of young adults. J. Behav. Med. 20(2): 207-222.
Janz, N. K., and Becker, M. H. (1984). The Health Belief Model: A decade later. Health Educ. Q. 11(1): 1-47.
Karlik, P., Ruth, D., Huang, D., Sommons, J., Cockburn, J., and Hirst, S. (1996). Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment in the Well Patient: A Guide for General Practitioners, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria, and Victorian Academy of General Practice, Melbourne.
McKenna, F. P. (1993). It won't happen to me: Unrealistic optimism or illusion of control? Br. J. Psychol. 84: 39-50.
Perloff, L. S., and Fetzer, B. K. (1986). Self-other judgements and perceived vulnerability to victimization. J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 50(3): 502-510.
Peterson, C., and de Avila, M. (1995). Optimistic explanatory style and the perception of health problems. J. Clin. Psychol. 51(1): 128-132.
Rosenstock, I. M. (1974). The health belief model: Origins and correlates. Health Educ. Monogr. 2(4): 336-353.
Rosenstock, I. M., Strecher, V. J., and Becker, M. H. (1988). Social learning theory and the health belief model. Health Educ. Q. 25: 175-183.
Savage, S. A., and Clarke, V. A. (1996). Factors associated with screening mammography and breast self-examination intentions. Health Educ. Res. Theory Pract. 11(4): 409-421.
Segerstrom, S. C., McCarthey, W. J., Caskey, N. H., Gross, T. M., and Jarvik, M. E. (1993). Optimistic bias among cigarette smokers. J. Appl. Soc. Psychol. 23(19): 1606-1618.
Taylor, S. E., Kemeny, M. E., Aspinwall, L. G., Schneider, S. G., Rodriquez, R., and Herbert, M. (1992). Optimism, coping, psychological distress, and high-risk sexual behavior among men at risk for AIDS. J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 63: 460-473.
Weinstein, N. D. (1980). Unrealistic optimism about future life events. J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 39: 806-820.
Weinstein, N. D. (1982). Unrealistic optimism about susceptibility to health problems. J. Behav. Med. 5(4): 441-460.
Weinstein, N. D. (1987). Unrealistic optimism about susceptibility to health problems: Conclusions from a community-wide sample. J. Behav. Med. 10(5): 481-498.
Weinstein, N. D. (1989). Optimistic bias about personal risks. Science 246: 1232-1233.
Weinstein, N. D. (1993). Testing four competing theories of health-protective behavior. Health Psychol. 12: 324-333.
Williams, T., and Clarke, V. A. (1997). Optimistic bias in beliefs about smoking. Austral. J. Psychol. 49(2): 106-112.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Clarke, V.A., Lovegrove, H., Williams, A. et al. Unrealistic Optimism and the Health Belief Model. J Behav Med 23, 367–376 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005500917875
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005500917875