What are the patterns of adapting to health?
The Patterns of Adapting to Health (PATH) are naturally occurring patterns that underlie the expression of adult response to diverse health-related contexts. Hundreds of thousands of adults unknowingly conform to these patterns across every region of the United States, with each pattern defining a different trajectory of health with associated health outcomes.
The patterns were identified by Dr. Frederick Navarro as a graduate student in psychological research investigating the natural self-organization of health-related actions among adults in the United States using a psychographic methodology. The image below is an example of one of the patterns:
The patterns were identified by Dr. Frederick Navarro as a graduate student in psychological research investigating the natural self-organization of health-related actions among adults in the United States using a psychographic methodology. The image below is an example of one of the patterns:
Graph Explanation. In the image, levels closer to 1.0 indicate avoidance of the health context while numbers closer to 5.0 indicate stronger engagement in the context. For example, adults conforming to this pattern show strong avoidance of health care due to cost concern but not due to distrust of doctors. They also see family members as responsible for their own health, but attribute family health care decisions to themselves versus others.
The presence of such patterns underlying a wide range of behaviors has been supported by many empirical studies across diverse populations. But, the most interesting aspect of these patterns is that they suggest adult health-related behavior is not totally a matter of free will. As adults dynamically adapt to health, the expression of their actions is constrained like water flowing down a canal. Each individual water molecule moves randomly in the flow, but the flow as a whole follows the path of the canal. Likewise, while an adult's unique response to some health issue is freely chosen, the whole of their adaptive behavior across all health contexts conforms to a pattern.
The presence of such patterns underlying a wide range of behaviors has been supported by many empirical studies across diverse populations. But, the most interesting aspect of these patterns is that they suggest adult health-related behavior is not totally a matter of free will. As adults dynamically adapt to health, the expression of their actions is constrained like water flowing down a canal. Each individual water molecule moves randomly in the flow, but the flow as a whole follows the path of the canal. Likewise, while an adult's unique response to some health issue is freely chosen, the whole of their adaptive behavior across all health contexts conforms to a pattern.
The PATH and health involvement
The nine PATH naturally fall into three major levels of health involvement: low, moderate, and high. However, the expression of this health involvement is different and impacts health outcomes differently.
