Purpose

The questionnaire was adapted into Greek in order to address the need for psychometric tools in the field of health psychology. It can be used in research to describe typical health behaviors and in evaluating interventions aimed at promoting specific health behaviors. It yields a composite index useful in assessing prevention programs and health quality, and is also applicable in counseling and clinical practice.

Brief Description

The questionnaire consists of 85 items describing a total of seven types of health behavior: nutrition, exercise, smoking, alcohol use, preventive behaviors, medication use, and sleep and well-being. In each behavior domain (e.g., nutrition, smoking, sleep), the respondent is asked to answer specific questions (e.g., how often do you drink milk? how often do you eat vegetables?). Each question can be scored either by the respondent or by the researcher. For each domain, a composite behavioral index is produced. These indices can be used as either dependent or independent variables to explore relationships between personality traits or other individual differences and health behaviors, as well as for evaluating prevention and intervention programs.

Sample

The questionnaire has been adapted into the Greek language. Standardization in the Greek population is currently in progress. Indicative data from the standardized German version in a sample of 518 individuals are provided. Internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α) for the individual domains was found to be as follows: Nutrition: 0.51 to 0.91. Exercise: 0.43 to 0.71. Alcohol: 0.86 to 0.90. Medication use: 0.59 to 0.84. Smoking: 0.84 to 0.85. Sleep: 0.62. Well-being: 0.49.

Scoring Method

Scoring is done using Likert-type scales: four-point scales (1=never, 4=daily/multiple times per day); five-point scales (1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree); seven-point scales (−3=very dissatisfied, 0=neutral, +3=very satisfied); or by selecting one or more options from a list. Each health domain and its individual factors are evaluated separately, along with the relationships between specific behaviors and health levels, as well as the relationships between demographic characteristics and the different health domains. For each subscale, means or sum scores can be calculated.
The questionnaire is flexible in terms of scoring and evaluation, depending on the research questions and intended purpose.

Key References

Dlugosch, G. E. (1994). Veränderungen des Gesundheitsverhaltens während einer Kur. Eine Längsschnittstudie zur Reliabilitäts- und Validitätsprüfung des Fragebogens zur Erfassung des Gesundheitsverhaltens (FEG). Landau: Empirische Pädagogik.
Dlugosch, G. E., & Krieger, W. (1995). Fragebogen zur Erfassung des Gesundheitsverhaltens – FEG: Handanweisung. Frankfurt: Sweet Test Services.
Sofianopoulou, A., & Kalantzi-Azizi, A. (2003). Description of health-related behaviors: nutrition, exercise, alcohol use, smoking and sleep. The impact of age, gender, and psychological condition. Undergraduate thesis, Department of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology (Psychology Program), University of Athens, Athens.