The application of structural equation modelling to the construction of an index for the measurement of health-related behaviours

It is useful for ease of interpretation of health survey data to have the use of a single dimension or index which represents the healthiness of the behaviour patterns of the population. At issue are the methods for deriving the dimension or index. Two methods, structural equation modelling and the more standard multiple-regression approach, were used to develop models for both cross-sectional and longitudinal data from a health and life style survey. The potential of these approaches to explain subsequent health outcomes is considered.