Health Behaviors as a Mediator of the Association Between Interpersonal Relationships and Physical Health in a Workplace Context

Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis, Helder Fernando Pedrosa Sousa, Andreia de Moura, Lilian M. F. Viterbo and Ricardo J. Pinto
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Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis: UFP Energy, Environment and Health Research Unit (FP-ENAS), University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), Praça 9 de Abril 349, 4249-004 Porto, Portugal
Helder Fernando Pedrosa Sousa: Department of Mathematics (DM. UTAD), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Quinta de Prados, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Andreia de Moura: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab (HEI-Lab), Lusófona University of Porto (ULP), Rua Augusto Rosa 24, 4000-098 Porto, Portugal
Lilian M. F. Viterbo: UFP Energy, Environment and Health Research Unit (FP-ENAS), University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), Praça 9 de Abril 349, 4249-004 Porto, Portugal
Ricardo J. Pinto: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab (HEI-Lab), Lusófona University of Porto (ULP), Rua Augusto Rosa 24, 4000-098 Porto, Portugal

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-9

Abstract: The etiology of diseases is multifactorial, involving genetic, environmental, and lifestyle-related behaviors. Considering the pathway that involves behavioral processes, a huge body of empirical evidence has shown that some healthy behaviors such as non-smoking, any or moderate alcohol consumption, a healthy diet, (e.g., fruit and vegetable intake), and physical activity, decrease the risk of disease and mortality. This study aimed to explore the potential mediating effect of combined health behaviors on the association between interpersonal relationships and physical health in a Brazilian adult worker population from the Occupational Health Service within the oil industry in Bahia, Brazil. The sample included 611 workers, of which 567 (92.8%) were males and 44 (7.2%) females, age ranging from 18 to 73 years ( M = 41.95; SD = 8.88). The significant predictors of physical health were interpersonal relationships and health behaviors. Health behaviors contributed significantly to a reduction in the effect of interpersonal relationships on physical health outcomes. As far as it is known, there has been no prior work in Brazil that simultaneously examined the best predictors of physical health in oil workers using this conceptual model. Interventions in the workplace environment need to consider health behavior as a mediator between interpersonal relationships and physical health, aligned in a global psychosocial approach to health at work.

Keywords: physical health; health behaviors; interpersonal relationships; mediator; predictor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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