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The Influence of Health Mindset on Perceptions of Illness and Behaviors Among Adolescents

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Abstract

Background

Health mindsets can be viewed on a continuum of malleability from fixed (health cannot be altered) to growth (health can be affected by behavior). We propose that mindsets may influence the health perceptions of healthy adolescents as well as the health behaviors of adolescents with a chronic illness.

Methods

In Study 1, we surveyed healthy adolescents about their health mindsets and their judgments of illness in response to vignettes of fictional others. In Study 2, we measured the health mindsets and health behaviors of adolescents with type 1 diabetes

Results

In Study 1, healthy adolescents with a fixed health mindset were more likely to rate fictional others as being less healthy, less likely to recover, and more vulnerable to additional diseases. In Study 2, a growth mindset was associated with a greater frequency of glucose monitoring among younger, but not older, adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Further, growth mindset was associated with lower HbA1c levels for younger adolescents.

Conclusions

Health mindsets may shape views of the implications of illness or injury for overall health and, in adolescents with a chronic condition, may interact with age to influence health behaviors and outcomes.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the helpful comments of Carol Dweck PhD and David Maahs MD to earlier versions of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Montana State University, Bozeman, USA

    Neha A. John-Henderson

  2. Department of Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA

    Robert C. Wright & Claudia M. Mueller

  3. Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA

    Kody J. Manke

  4. Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA

    Omid Fotuhi

  5. Department of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA

    Barry Zuckerman

  6. Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA

    Laura Nally

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  1. Neha A. John-Henderson
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  7. Claudia M. Mueller
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Correspondence to Claudia M. Mueller.

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John-Henderson, N.A., Wright, R.C., Manke, K.J. et al. The Influence of Health Mindset on Perceptions of Illness and Behaviors Among Adolescents. Int.J. Behav. Med. 28, 727–736 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-021-09972-2

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