The Role of Legitimacy and Communal Orientation on the Use of Health Influence Strategies

Abstract

This study examines how having a communal orientation toward relationships and feeling that one has a legitimate right to confront another are related to the strategies people use when confronting an individual to alter unhealthy behaviors. Among a sample of undergraduates, communal orientation was positively related to legitimacy. Communal orientation was also positively related to enacting active, direct, and supportive strategies. Evidence that legitimacy partially mediated the relation between communal orientation and active, direct strategies was also found.

Keywords:

• Communal Orientation
• Health Influence
• Legitimacy
• Social Confrontation

We thank Wendy Samter and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful feedback on this manuscript.

Notes

Note. Item 5 was reverse coded. Eigenvalue = 3.10, accounting for 62% of the variance.

∗p ≤ .05. ∗∗p ≤ .001.

Note. Step 1: df = 2, 196; Step 2: df = 3, 195.

∗p < .05. ∗∗p < .001.

The items in this scale differed from the items previously used (Malis & Roloff, 2007). Therefore, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation, and a single factor emerged. A reviewer noted that some items on the scale reflected beliefs and some reflected behaviors. Hence, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to see if a two-factor model that differentiated belief from behavior items fit the data, and it did not according to standards suggested by Thompson (2004).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachel M. Reznik

Rachel M. Reznik (PhD, Northwestern University, 2006) is an assistant professor in the Communication Arts and Sciences department at Elmhurst College.

Michael E. Roloff

Michael E. Roloff (PhD, Michigan State University, 1975) is a professor in the Communication Studies department at Northwestern University.