Stress: Personal matter or family affair? Intra- and inter-individual relationships between stress, physical activity, sedentery behavior, and nutrition

Individual health behavior, which is determined by individual motives, emotions, and cognitive processes, is embedded in a social environment. One of the most important social environments is the family. According to Family Reciprocal Determinism, stress perceived by one family member becomes part of the family environment and may affect interactions within the family, as well as the health behavior of all family members. This study investigated 214 families, each represented by a mother, a father, and one of their children. The aim of the study was to examine intra- and inter-individual relationships between perceived stress and three health behaviors: physical activity, leisure-time sedentary behavior, and food consumption. The results indicate that individually perceived stress is related to individual health behavior as well as the health behavior of other family members. However, these relationships vary among family members. The inter-individual analyses revealed that this effect is strongest for the relationship of mothers’ stress to other family members’ health behavior. Investigating the link between perceived stress and health behavior from a family perspective may be useful for understanding the relationship between stress and health.