A Fourth-Generation Multi-Theory Model (MTM) of Health Behavior Change

Over the past few decades, a number of different theoretical concepts regarding behavior change have developed. In earlier concepts, the emphasis was placed on information-based interventions like awareness and dissemination of knowledge. Theories of the second generation placed an emphasis on the development of skills. Third-generation theories, such as the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and social cognitive theory (SCT), were developed in the 1990s as a result of evidence-based empirical research methodologies. The revolutionary fourth-generation trends that are currently being implemented, incorporate technology, and targeted behavior modification simultaneously, in order to implement correct interventions that are synthesized from the collective intelligence of different theories. A fourth-generation theoretical concept—multi-theory model (MTM) of health behavior change—reinvigorates the utilization of a contemporaneous framework for the initiation and sustenance of the behavior that is being analyzed. This innovative behavior change model has the potential to assist in the development of a wide range of public health program overtures that are deemed vital for changing health behaviors, promoting health literacy, and complementing healthy lives. MTM is a complete theoretical framework that includes major constructs from theories in cognition, conation, volition, and environment. With all this explanatory approach, MTM has been apprised of its evidence-based positionality in the contemporary and prospective public health research.