The social dimensions of health behavior framework in physical activity: a bibliometric review

Based on the newly developed social dimensions of health behavior framework (SDHB; [Rhodes, R. E., & Beauchamp, M. R. (2024). Development of the social dimensions of health behaviour framework. Health Psychology Review, 18(4), 750–766. doi:10.1080/17437199.2024.2339329]), which includes social appraisal and social identification dimensions, we describe the state of research on the various social constructs that may influence physical activity (PA) behavior. We conducted a bibliometric analysis to describe the volume of research conducted on each dimension of the SDHB, detail the countries involved in the research, outline the most prominent authors and documents, and describe the themes regarding the content of published documents, and trends of themes over time. Peer-reviewed, English articles related to each dimension were collected from Web of Science in April-May 2025. High-researched dimensions were: perceived social support, injunctive norms, descriptive norms, appraisal of others, attachment ties, and relational self-perceptions (and to a lesser extent shared cognition). Meta-perceptions, motivation to comply, and socially appraised cognition received little attention. Research originating from the USA, and work based on the theory of planned behavior, social cognitive theory, and self-determination theory dominated. We provide a comprehensive commentary alongside recommendations for future research in the field. It is hoped that our findings encourage future SDHB research that produces a better understanding of PA behavior.