Developing a Taxonomy of Dyadic Behavior Change Techniques

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A growing literature documents the importance of the social context in shaping health behavior change. Researchers have produced a large number of theories and empirical findings to better understand the protective effect of close relationships, in particular the romantic relationship, on health. However, despite decades of research, the specific processes underlying the powerful effect of romantic relationships on health are still far from understood. This broad research field, including disciplines within psychology as well as beyond, has produced a highly heterogeneous nomenclature and a myriad of constructs of different complexity, hampering the synthesis of empirical evidence. At the same time, there has been a rise in dyadic intervention studies, many of which involve romantic partners to change health behavior. Overall, evidence to date suggests that dyadic interventions in romantic couples are a promising avenue. However, due to poor reporting of intervention content and unsystematic labelling of intervention strategies, little is known about what exactly makes these interventions successful. Existing taxonomies that systematically identify and classify intervention techniques to promote behavior change have mainly focused on techniques at the level of the individual (e.g., goal setting, self-monitoring). Intervention techniques involving any form of interaction with a non-professional dyad member (i.e. dyadic behavior change techniques) are underrepresented or not well differentiated. Thus, to understand dyadic processes in health behavior change, a systematic and reliable identification of dyadic behavior change techniques is an important next step. The proposed Lead Agency project “Developing a Taxonomy of Dyadic Behavior Change Techniques” aims to develop and evaluate a comprehensive and reliable taxonomy of theory-based distinct, clear, and precise dyadic behavior change techniques (DBCTs) for facilitating change in health-enhancing (e.g., physical activity, nutrition) or health-compromising (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption) behaviors. We will use the example of the romantic couple as a highly important dyad for health behavior change. By drawing on a network of international experts, we aim to establish an internationally accepted taxonomy that will ensure precise reporting of dyadic intervention content, guide the development of theory-based dyadic behavior change interventions, and facilitate evidence synthesis across disciplines on effective dyadic behavior change in romantic couples. This will lay a solid foundation for establishing future DBCT taxonomies for other dyad constellations (e.g., parent-child, peers) or contexts (e.g., mental health, stress).