A Longitudinal Examination of the Causal Direction Between Health Behavior and Chronic Stress

• In Event: 20820 - Section on Medical Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 4. Health Behaviors

Abstract

The relationship between chronic stress and health behavior has been largely assumed to be unidirectional, with stress leading to unhealthy habits. However, overwhelming majority of the empirical evidence supporting this position are limited by cross-section design or outdated methods. This study investigates the directionality of this relationship using six waves of data (2010–2020) from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative longitudinal survey of Americans aged 50 and older. Employing a Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM), this study isolates within-person variation to test bidirectional associations between chronic stress and unhealthy behaviors, which include smoking, heavy drinking, low physical activity, and non-normal BMI. Results indicate a reciprocal relationship: unhealthy behaviors significantly predict higher chronic stress, and also the other way around. Furthermore, health behavior could also potentially be more causally dominant in the bidirectional relationship with stress. These findings challenge conventional stress-to-behavior models and suggest that health behaviors may play a more substantial role in stress perception than previously acknowledged. Further sensitivity analyses and alternative model specifications are planned to confirm these results. This study highlights the need to reconsider theoretical frameworks regarding stress and health behaviors and their role in health inequalities.

Authors

• Yuhang Li, SUNY-Albany

• Rui (Zoe) Huang, SUNY-Buffalo