Transgenerational transmission as a determinant of health-preserving behavior
DOI: 10.23951/2307-6127-2026-2-121-130
The article addresses the issue of developing a health-saving model of behavior. The problem of preserving health remains relevant. Classical models describing a person’s subjective attitude towards their own health status do not explain why people choose non-constructive ways of reacting to illness. In this regard, a pilot study was conducted on the specifics of attitudes towards illness among parents and their adult children. For the study, family dyads (mother and daughter) were selected. A set of methods aimed at diagnosing the levels of the internal picture of illness was used: for diagnosing the sensory level (the GH scale – General Health in the “SF-36 Health Status Survey”), for the emotional level (heart rate variability was recorded and assessed using the “Omega-M” computer program, the SCL-90-R questionnaire, and a method for diagnosing coping behavior in stressful situations), for the intellectual level (inhibitory control was assessed using the reflexometric method “ReBOS” (developed by E.G. Vergunov), the “Level of Subjective Control” method), and for the motivational level (the TOBOL method). Analysis of the transgenerational aspect allowed us to conclude that the most common type in the sample is the ergopathic type, identified in representatives of both age groups (both adult children and their parents). This indicates a possible transgenerational transmission of this specific strategy for coping with illness. The obtained results empirically confirm the hypothesis of the transgenerational transmission of specific psychological and cognitive patterns in families with chronic illnesses. The most pronounced similarity is observed in areas related to affective regulation, cognitive control, and the system of health beliefs. These findings underscore the need for a family-systemic approach in researching and correcting the internal picture of illness, as its formation in a young person occurs in close connection with the established functioning patterns of the parental system.
Keywords: transgenerational transmission, health, attitude towards illness, health preservation, internal picture of illness, IPI
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Issue: 2, 2026
Series of issue: Issue 2
Rubric: PSYCHOLOGY
Pages: 121 — 130
Downloads: 2