Maintenance of health behavior change in preventive cardiology. Internalization and self-regulation of new behaviors

Long-term health behavior maintenance remains a challenge for patients and health behavior interventionists. Resource-intensive systems of external reinforcement and behavioral cues can support behavior maintenance; an alternative approach is to promote patient internalization and self-regulation of health behaviors. Based in part on organismic internalization theory, self-determination theory, and the experience of patients successful at maintaining health behaviors, the health behavior internalization model (HBIM) is proposed to describe motivational factors associated with internalization processes and hypothesizes that integrated internalization may be associated with long-term health behavior maintenance. The HBIM identifies four self-needs (ownership, self-determination, security, and support) and four behavior-related needs (preference, context, competence, and coping) as motivating health behavior internalization. Behavior change strategies promoting integrated internalization are identified from self-determination theory, motivational interviewing, and transtheoretical model interventions. Other health behavior change constructs are reviewed in relation to internalization processes, and potential limits to the model are discussed.