A Sociological Explanation of Health-Oriented Lifestyle among Women in Mashhad

Shahrzad  Bahadori Marghzar; Majedeh Gholipour; Abolghasem  Heydarabadi

Authors

Shahrzad Bahadori Marghzar Department of Sociology, Bab.C., Islamic Azad University, Babol, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6007-6135
Majedeh Gholipour Department of Sociology, Bab.C., Islamic Azad University, Babol, Iran https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4020-1792
Abolghasem Heydarabadi Department of Sociology, Bab.C., Islamic Azad University, Babol, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5119-7391

Keywords:

health-oriented lifestyle, social capital, cultural capital, social support, religiosity, social media

Abstract

A health-oriented lifestyle, as a set of behavioral patterns that promote health, plays a fundamental role in women’s quality of life. The present study aimed to provide a sociological explanation of health-oriented lifestyle among women in Mashhad and to identify the relative contributions of cultural, social, media-related, and structural factors influencing it. This study employed a cross-sectional survey design, and data were collected from 384 women over the age of 20 residing in Mashhad using stratified sampling. The research instrument was a structured questionnaire with confirmed reliability (Cronbach’s alpha > .80). Data were analyzed using simple and multiple linear regression analyses and structural equation modeling (SEM) in SPSS 26 and AMOS 24. The results of multiple regression analysis indicated that six variables—socioeconomic status, cultural capital, religiosity, social media use, social capital, and social support—collectively explained 86.3% of the variance in health-oriented lifestyle (R² = .863, F = 394.25, p < .001). Social capital was the strongest predictor in the model (β = .382), followed by social support (β = .231) and social media use (β = .158). In the structural equation model, the coefficient of determination was .88, and social media use exhibited the strongest direct effect, with a path coefficient of .638. Cultural capital (β = .271) and social support (β = .209) ranked next in terms of their effects. The health-oriented lifestyle of women in Mashhad is a multidimensional and hybrid phenomenon in which social capital functions as a contextual foundation, while media and cultural capital operate as modern driving forces. Women’s health policymaking should therefore simultaneously focus on strengthening traditional social networks and strategically utilizing the capacities of new media.

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