Investigating stress and health behavior relationships in daily life: Towards a framework for advancing future research

Abstract

Stress is of major relevance for health and well-being. Health behavior is one pathway by which stress affects health. Less research has jointly investigated stress and health behavior but lately it has gained traction owing to the increased availability of methods for studying daily life that allow stress and health behavior to be studied when and where it occurs. However, findings are highly heterogeneous, with studies finding positive, negative or no relationship between stress and health behavior. In this paper, we discuss key sources of this heterogeneity, working toward a framework that will guide the field forward. Key elements of the framework include specifying (1) which stress aspects are related to which health behaviors, (2) considering the bidirectionality and (3) temporal dynamics of the stress-health behavior relationship, and identifying (4) for whom, and (5) under what circumstances stress relates to health behavior. Further, we (6) highlight methodological challenges and provide guidance on how to consider these when planning and reporting research for more robust psychological science in this field. Taken together, we believe this work will help disentangle the complex relationship between stress and health behavior and build a cumulative evidence base to pave the way for interventions.