Abstract
This Meta-Analysis of 18 studies was conducted to determine the magnitude of th relationship between health
promotion behavior and each of explanatory variables. The studies were measured using Health Promoting Life
Style(HPLP) developed by Walker and others based on Pender's definiton of health promoting behavior. The sample
was collected by searching for The Journal of Korean Academy Nursing Society, The Journal of Korean Women's
Health Nursing Academic Society,The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Adult Nursing, Journal of Korean
Community Nursing, The Journal of Fundamentals of Nursing, The Journal of Korean Nursing Administration
Academic Society, The Korean Journal of Child Health Nursing, The Journal of Korean Psychiatric Academic
Society, the dissertations for mater degree or doctoral dissertations for the period from 1980 to 1998. The
explanatory variables measured more than 2 times in studies were self-efficacy, perceived health status, self-esteem,
internal, powerful- others and chance dimensions of health locus of control, perceived benefits, hardiness, wellbeing
and clinical demensions of health concepts, and quality of life(life satisfaction). Effect sizes were calculated by
unweighted mean r, weighted mean r by sample size and weighted mean r by quality index score after homogeneity
test. The mean r effect size indicator range of each predictor variable were as follows; quality of life (0.50- 0.52),
self-efficacy(0.46-0.47), hardiness (0.42-0.44), self-esteem(0.41-0.43), health locus of control- internal(0.32-0.34), health locus
of control- powerful others (0.25-0.31), perceived health status(0.18-0.19) and clinical dimensions of health concepts (0.16-0.17).