Date created: | Last Updated:

Category: Project

Description: 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.