Personalized Risk: Changes in risk perception and health behavior after multiple personalized risk feedback

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The main goal of the research project P5 "Personalized Risk" is to examine (a) trajectories in health risk perception across time, (b) the interplay between changes in risk perceptions and health behaviors across time (Preparedness-Exposure-Coping Cycles, PEC), and c) risk-amplifying and -decreasing mechanisms in the different stages of the PEC Cycle after receiving multiple personalized risk-related feedback ("critical events") in real-life contexts. Two types of risk-related feedback will be studied in two work packages (WPs); one related to secondary prevention (clinical biomarkers, WP1) and one related to primary prevention (health behavior, WP2). Multiple risk feedback will be tailored to the actual individual risk status through objective measures (e.g., blood pressure, lipid levels, WP1) and ecological momentary assessment of real-life behavior (food intake, physical activity, WP2). In order to trace how risk perceptions and risk feedback responses change across time, longitudinal research designs will be implemented with multiple, consecutive measurement points of risk perception and health protective behaviors. We expect differential dynamics across time that are dependent on initial risk perceptions, risk reappraisals, and coping responses and will therefore investigate several risk compensatory mechanisms that might hinder risk decreasing PEC Cycles. In addition, we will investigate the impact of differential preparedness (self-regulatory competence) on dynamic changes. We assume that, for long-term protective (adaptive) behavioral changes, the impact of post-event coping responses, i.e. lifestyle changes, on risk perceptions is highly relevant. The novel data and findings will help to advance theories on risk perception and health behavior and to inform the development of effective risk communication and health behavior change techniques.