Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved

Objective. Health Self-Empowerment Theory (health motivation, health self-efficacy, health self-praise, and active coping) was examined as a predictor of levels of engagement in four health-promoting behaviors (health responsibility behaviors, regular exercise, healthy eating, and stress management behaviors) among low-income African American adolescents and non-Hispanic White American adolescents living with at least one chronic illness. Methods. Eighty-seven participants completed measures of the Health Self-Empowerment Theory variables and of level of engagement in each of the four health-promoting behaviors. Results. Regression analyses revealed that the combined Health Self-Empowerment Theory variables significantly predicted level of engagement in the four examined health-promoting behaviors. Additionally, active coping, health self-praise, and health motivation each significantly predicted one or more of the examined health-promoting behaviors. Conclusions. Health self-empowerment may be useful for informing interventions designed to foster engagement in health-promoting behaviors among low-income adolescents living with one or more chronic illnesses.