Health Lifestyle Theory and the Convergence of Agency and Structure
2005/03/01 by William C. Cockerham · 970 citations
Arts and Humanities · Health Professions · Psychology · #Agency (philosophy) #Economics #Empirical research #Epistemology #Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes #Individualism #Mental Health and Patient Involvement #Obesity and Health Practices #Political science #Position (finance) #Positive economics #Psychology #Social psychology #Social science #Sociology #Structure and agency
paper · doi:10.1177/002214650504600105
published in Journal of Health and Social Behavior 46(1), 51-67 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2005/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract
This article utilizes the agency-structure debate as a framework for constructing a health lifestyle theory. No such theory currently exists, yet the need for one is underscored by the fact that many daily lifestyle practices involve considerations of health outcomes. An individualist paradigm has influenced concepts of health lifestyles in several disciplines, but this approach neglects the structural dimensions of such lifestyles and has limited applicability to the empirical world. The direction of this article is to present a theory of health lifestyles that includes considerations of both agency and structure, with an emphasis upon restoring structure to its appropriate position. The article begins by defining agency and structure, followed by presentation of a health lifestyle model and the theoretical and empirical studies that support it.
Citations
Cited by
- Why Do College Graduates Behave More Healthfully Than Those Who Are Less Educated?
- Health Lifestyles in Adolescence and Self-rated Health into Adulthood
- The Protective Effect of Marriage for Survival: A Review and Update
- No Socioeconomic Inequalities in Mortality among Catholic Monks: A Quasi-Experiment Providing Evidence for the Fundamental Cause Theory
- Closing the gap: Integrating behavioral and social dynamics through a modular modelling framework for low-energy demand pathways
- Ordering theories: Typologies and conceptual frameworks for sociotechnical change
- Associations of the Lifestyle for Brain Health (LIBRA) index with cognitive functioning across adulthood: Variation by sex and socioeconomic status in the German National Cohort (NAKO)
- Health lifestyles at work: availability, barriers and participation in workplace wellness
- Plant-based diets: Not always a free choice for rural adults
- Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Lifestyle Evaluation Instrument for Older Adults
- Do resources of network members help in help seeking? Social capital and health information search
- Targeting “Lifestyle” Conditions. What Justifications for Treatment?
- The “Black Middle-Class Toolkit” as a Framework for Understanding the Cultural Implications of Recreational Running
- Nondrinker Mortality Risk in the United States
- The importance of economic, social and cultural capital in understanding health inequalities: using a Bourdieu‐based approach in research on physical and mental health perceptions
- Does reading keep you thin? Leisure activities, cultural tastes, and body weight in comparative perspective
- Reconsidering inequalities in preventive health care: an application of cultural health capital theory and the life‐course perspective to the take‐up of mammography screening
- Patterns and causes of health inequalities in later life: a Bourdieusian approach
- Why sociologists abandoned the sick role concept
- Socioeconomic Disparities in Health Behaviors. [europepmc]
- Educational differences in healthy behavior changes and adherence among middle-aged Americans. [europepmc]
- Proactive approaches to successful aging: one clear path through the forest. [europepmc]
- Reconceptualizing Agency within the Life Course: The Power of Looking Ahead. [europepmc]
- Social Determinants and Health Behaviors: Conceptual Frames and Empirical Advances. [europepmc]
- Growth Trajectories of Health Behaviors from Adolescence through Young Adulthood. [europepmc]
- Educational attainment and the clustering of health-related behavior among U.S. young adults. [europepmc]
- Variation in the Protective Effect of Higher Education Against Depression. [europepmc]
- The Social Determinants of Chronic Disease. [europepmc]
- Emerging Adulthood, Emergent Health Lifestyles: Sociodemographic Determinants of Trajectories of Smoking, Binge Drinking, Obesity, and Sedentary Behavior. [europepmc]
- Health Lifestyle Behaviors among U.S. Adults. [europepmc]
- Why Do College Graduates Behave More Healthfully than Those Who Are Less Educated? [europepmc]
- Health lifestyles across the transition to adulthood: Implications for health. [europepmc]
- Social Determinants of Adherence to Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. [europepmc]
- Family, Peer, and School Influences on Children's Developing Health Lifestyles. [europepmc]
- Innovative technologies and social inequalities in health: A scoping review of the literature. [europepmc]
- Health-promoting lifestyle and quality of life among Chinese nursing students. [europepmc]
- Childhood (Mis)fortune, Educational Attainment, and Adult Health: Contingent Benefits of a College Degree? [europepmc]
- "Under the Skin" and into the Gut: Social Epidemiology of the Microbiome. [europepmc]
- Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Physical and Psychological Health: Lifestyle as a Mediator. [europepmc]
- Educational Disparities in Adult Health: U.S. States as Institutional Actors on the Association. [europepmc]
- Perception and practices of menstruation restrictions among urban adolescent girls and women in Nepal: a cross-sectional survey. [europepmc]
- Intersectionality in quantitative health disparities research: A systematic review of challenges and limitations in empirical studies. [europepmc]
- A retrospective on fundamental cause theory: State of the literature, and goals for the future. [europepmc]
- Social determinants and lifestyle factors for brain health: implications for risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia. [europepmc]
Related