measured-response

Improving fruit and vegetable consumption: a self-efficacy intervention compared with a combined self-efficacy and planning intervention.

Health Educ Res. 2006 Oct 23;

Authors: Luszczynska A, Tryburcy M, Schwarzer R

Effects of interventions targeting self-efficacy alone or combined with action plans were examined in the context of fruit and vegetable consumption. E-mail messages were sent to a self-efficacy group, a combined self-efficacy and action planning group and a control group. At a 6-month follow-up, 200 adults reported their fruit and vegetable consumption, along with current levels of self-efficacy and planning. The two experimental groups gained equally from the interventions, as documented by changes in behavior. In both intervention groups, change in respective cognitions predicted change in fruit and vegetable consumption. Parsimonious interventions might contribute to health behavior change.

PMID: 17060349 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Related Articles

Support provider's appraisal detection bias and the efficacy of received support in medical students preparing for an exam.

Br J Soc Psychol. 2006 Sep;45(Pt 3):599-615

Authors: Knoll N, Schulz U, Schwarzer R, Rosemeier HP

Matching social support to the recipient's needs requires diagnostic sensitivity on the part of the provider. In particular, support needs to be responsive to the recipient's stress-related appraisals to be maximally effective. To assess the impact of bias in interpersonal stress assessment, medical students in 43 dyads reported on their own and each other's stress appraisals, social support, affect and performance during a 5-day preparation period culminating in a multiple choice examination. Less biased perceptions of loss appraisals by support providers within dyads were followed by support transactions associated with lower negative affect and better exam performance among recipients. More biased perceptions of threat appraisals were followed by increases in the recipients' negative affect. Results therefore suggest that support is more effective when the provider understands the recipient's concerns.

PMID: 16984723 [PubMed - in process]

Stage-specific effects of an action control intervention on dental flossing.

Health Educ Res. 2006 Aug 31;

Authors: Schüz B, Sniehotta FF, Schwarzer R

Health behavior interventions may have different effects when targeting individuals at different stages of change. A 'motivation' stage, during which intentions are formed, has been distinguished from a 'volition' stage, implying that the latter requires self-regulatory effort in implementing and maintaining behavior. To test this stage assumption, an action control intervention (self-monitoring tool for dental flossing) matched to the volition stage and mismatched to the motivation stage was provided to 151 university students, with follow-up measures of action control and flossing after 2 and 6 weeks. Separate regression analyses for motivational and volitional participants indicated that only volitional participants benefited from the volitional intervention. This supports the usefulness of stage assumptions and the advantage of tailoring interventions to participants who reside either in the motivational or in the volitional stage.

PMID: 16945985 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Item response modeling: an evaluation of the children's fruit and vegetable self-efficacy questionnaire.

Health Educ Res. 2006 Oct 31;

Authors: Watson K, Baranowski T, Thompson D

Perceived self-efficacy (SE) for eating fruit and vegetables (FV) is a key variable mediating FV change in interventions. This study applies item response modeling (IRM) to a fruit, juice and vegetable self-efficacy questionnaire (FVSEQ) previously validated with classical test theory (CTT) procedures. The 24-item (five-point Likert scale) FVSEQ was administered to 1578 fourth graders from 26 Houston schools. The IRM partial credit model indicated the five-point response options were not fully utilized. The questionnaire exhibited acceptable (>0.70) reliability except at the extremes of the SE scale. Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses revealed no response bias due to gender. However, DIF was detected by ethnic groups in 10 items. IRM of this scale expanded what was known from CTT methods in three ways: (i) areas of the scale were identified that were not as reliable, (ii) limitations were found in the response format and (c) areas of the SE scale levels were not measured. The FVSEQ can be improved by including items at the extreme levels of difficulty. DIF analyses identified areas where IRM can be useful to improve the functioning of measures.

PMID: 17077167 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Does participation in an intervention affect responses on self-report questionnaires?

Health Educ Res. 2006 Oct 23;

Authors: Baranowski T, Allen DD, Mâsse LC, Wilson M

There has been some concern that participation in an intervention and exposure to a measurement instrument can change participants' interpretation of the items on a self-report questionnaire thereby distorting subsequent responses and biasing results. Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis using item response modeling can ascertain possible differences in item interpretation by testing for differences in item location between groups. The DIF for treatment versus control group differences at post-intervention assessment and the Time 1 and Time 2 differences in a control group were analyzed using data from a dietary change intervention trial for Boy Scouts. The measures included fruit and vegetable (FV) frequency of consumption, preferences and self-efficacy. Treatment-control group DIF at post-intervention assessment was detected in a higher percentage of items for FV frequency than for preference or self-efficacy. Time 1 to Time 2 differences in items for the control group were detected in one item for each of the three scales. Further research will need to clarify whether the obtained DIFs reflected true changes in frequency, preference or self-efficacy or some reinterpretation of items by participants following an intervention or merely after previous exposure to the measure.

PMID: 17060350 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Comparing two theories of health behavior: a prospective study of noncompletion of treatment following cervical cancer screening.

Health Psychol. 2006 Sep;25(5):604-15

Authors: Orbell S, Hagger M, Brown V, Tidy J

Some women receiving abnormal cervical screening tests do not complete recommended treatment. A prospective study (N = 660) investigated the value of conceptualizing attendance at colposcopy for treatment as either (a) an active problem-solving response to a health threat, motivated by attitudes toward an abnormal result, as implied by self-regulation theory (H. Leventhal, D. Meyer, & D. Nerenz, 1980); or (b) as a behavior motivated by attitudes toward clinic attendance, as implied by the theory of planned behavior (TPB; I. Ajzen, 1985). Responses to questionnaires containing variables specified by these models were used to predict women's subsequent attendance or nonattendance for treatment over the following 15 months. Although the TPB offered superior prediction of intentions and completion of treatment, discriminant function analyses showed that consideration of both models was important in distinguishing between those who attended all their appointments as scheduled, attended after being prompted, or ceased attending. Implications for measurement and theory in health protection are discussed.

PMID: 17014278 [PubMed - in process]

"When no means no": can reactance augment the theory of planned behavior?

Health Psychol. 2006 Sep;25(5):586-94

Authors: Orbell S, Hagger M

A longitudinal study examined women's clinic attendance for treatment and follow-up after having received an abnormal cervical screening result. Participants (N = 660) completed questionnaire measures of variables specified by the theory of planned behavior and J. Kuhl's (2000) measure of low volitional control--reactance--prior to receiving up to 3 subsequent appointments during the following 15 months. The theory of planned behavior was capable of predicting persistent attendance and discriminated women who kept all of their scheduled appointments from those who dropped out from treatment. Consideration of reactance enhanced prediction of behavior and discriminated between women who delayed appointment keeping and women who ceased attending.

PMID: 17014276 [PubMed - in process]

Social desirability is associated with some physical activity, psychosocial variables and sedentary behavior but not self-reported physical activity among adolescent males.

Health Educ Res. 2006 Sep 20;

Authors: Jago R, Baranowski T, Baranowski JC, Cullen KW, Thompson DI

This study examined whether controlling for social desirability improved the association between self-reported and objectively measured physical activity among adolescent males and the extent that psychosocial variables predict physical activity after controlling for social desirability. Participants (n = 447) were 10- to 14-year old Houston Boy Scouts. Participants completed self-reports of physical activity, sedentary behavior, preferences, self-efficacy and social desirability and wore an MTI accelerometer for 3 days. Correlations were conducted among variables. Regression models were performed to examine the relationships between objectively measured (accelerometer) and self-reported physical activity, objectively measured physical activity and psychosocial variables and self-reports of physical activity and psychosocial variables. All models controlled for social desirability. There were weak associations between self-reported and objectively measured physical activity measures that were slightly improved after controlling for social desirability. Psychosocial variables were strongly associated with self-reports of physical activity, but weakly associated with accelerometer physical activity. Social desirability was positively associated with physical activity preferences (r = 0.169) and self-efficacy (r = 0.118) and negatively associated (r = -0.158) with self-reported sedentary behavior. Differences in the strength of relationships between self-reported and objectively measured physical activity and psychosocial variables were not a function of social desirability.

PMID: 16987942 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Crisis and chaos in behavioral nutrition and physical activity.

Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2006;3:27

Authors: Baranowski T

ABSTRACT: Resnicow & Vaughn challenged the field of behavioral nutrition and physical activity to conduct research in new ways. They challenged the predictiveness of our models, sensitivity to initial conditions, factors predisposing to change and measurement procedures. While the predictiveness of our models will reflect the sophistication of our thinking and research, and the sensitivity to initial conditions is subsumed under the sophistication of our models, research on conditions predisposing to change (e.g. epiphanies), more longitudinal designs, refined measurement procedures and testing of critical issues can only enhance the quality of our research. Improved research quality should lead to enhanced efficacy and effectiveness of our interventions, and thereby our making meaningful contributions to mitigating the chaos in our field and the crisis from the rising epidemic of obesity.

PMID: 16972998 [PubMed - in process]

Related Articles

Augmenting the theory of planned behaviour with the prototype/willingness model: predictive validity of actor versus abstainer prototypes for adolescents' health-protective and health-risk intentions.

Br J Health Psychol. 2006 Sep;11(Pt 3):483-500

Authors: Rivis A, Sheeran P, Armitage CJ

OBJECTIVES: The present research tested: (a) whether prototype perceptions and descriptive norms from the prototype/willingness model (PWM; Gibbons, Gerrard, Blanton, & Russell, 1998) enhance the prediction of adolescents' intentions to engage in health-protective and health-risk behaviours after variables from the theory of planned behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1991) and past behaviour have been taken into account and (b) whether images of the type of person who engages in a health behaviour (actor prototypes) and images of the type of person who does not engage in a health behaviour (abstainer prototypes) have equivalent predictive validity. DESIGN: An experimental design with a single between participants factor (actor versus abstainer prototype) was employed. METHOD: Participants in this study were 247 school pupils who completed measures of TPB variables, PWM variables and past behaviour in relation to three health-protective and three health-risk behaviours. RESULTS: Findings indicated that PWM variables accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in behavioural intentions after TPB variables and past behaviour had been taken into account (Mean deltaR2=.05). Perceived similarity to prototypes was the most consistent additional predictor of intention. Actor and abstainer prototypes exhibited equivalent predictive validity. CONCLUSIONS: The present research suggests that variables from the PWM, especially prototype similarity, enhance the predictive validity of the TPB. The findings also provide new evidence that acquiring the characteristics of both health and risk images may be goals among adolescents and suggest that both healthy and risky prototypes constitute useful cognitive targets for interventions.

PMID: 16870057 [PubMed - in process]

Observed, GIS, and self-reported environmental features and adolescent physical activity.

Am J Health Promot. 2006 Jul-Aug;20(6):422-8

Authors: Jago R, Baranowski T, Baranowski JC

PURPOSE: Examine associations among observed, self-reported, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) environmental features and physical activity among adolescent males. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Boy Scout troops and neighborhoods in Houston, Texas. SUBJECTS: Two hundred and ten 10- to 14-year-old Boy Scouts. MEASURES: Accelerometry to obtain minutes of sedentary, light, and moderate to vigorous activity per day. GIS sources were used to identify the numbers of parks, gymnasiums, trails, bus stops, grocery stores, and restaurants within a 1-mile radius of participant residences as well as residential density, connectivity, and crime. Participants provided a self-report of their environment. ANALYSIS: Principal component analysis was used to reduce the number of GIS and self-reported items. Four factors were previously obtained from direct observations of the neighborhoods. Correlations were conducted among factors and physical activity. Regression models were run in which minutes of sedentary behavior, light, or moderate to vigorous physical activity were the dependent variables and environmental factors were the independent variables. Nonsignificant variables were removed in a backward deletion process. RESULTS: Three GIS factors, Parks, Crime, and Gyms, were obtained as were two self-reported factors: difficulty and access and safety. Factor scores were interrelated and associated with the four observed factors. Only observed sidewalk characteristics were correlated with physical activity and were retained in the regression models. CONCLUSION: Environmental factors were interrelated. Only sidewalk characteristics were associated with sedentary behavior and light intensity physical activity.

PMID: 16871822 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Subjective residual life expectancy in health self-regulation.

J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2006 Jul;61(4):P195-201

Authors: Ziegelmann JP, Lippke S, Schwarzer R

Applying socioemotional selectivity theory to the domain of health, we examined the interplay of social-cognitive predictors of physical exercise in two groups of people who perceived their remaining lifetime as either expansive or limited (based on subjective longevity ratings). Individuals (N = 370) who were prescribed physical exercise were assessed at discharge from orthopedic rehabilitation as well as 6 and 12 months later. Multigroup structural equation modeling showed differences in latent means, interrelations of predictors, and amount of explained variance. Individuals who perceived their time as limited reported a less favorable profile on social-cognitive variables and less exercise goal attainment. We give first insights on how health self-regulation differs in these groups, and we discuss avenues for intervention based on socioemotional selectivity theory. In contrast to chronological age, subjective life expectancy can be targeted by intervention.

PMID: 16855031 [PubMed - in process]

Temporal framing and the decision to take part in type 2 diabetes screening: effects of individual differences in consideration of future consequences on persuasion.

Health Psychol. 2006 Jul;25(4):537-48

Authors: Orbell S, Hagger M

Reliable individual differences in the extent to which people consider the long- and short-term consequences of their own behaviors are hypothesized to influence the impact of a persuasive communication. In a field experiment, the time frame of occurrence of positive and negative consequences of taking part in a proposed Type 2 diabetes screening program was manipulated in a sample of 210 adults with a mean age of 53 years. Individual differences in consideration of future consequences (CFC; A. Strathman, F. Gleicher, D. S. Boninger, & C. S. Edwards, 1994) moderated (a) the generation of positive and negative thoughts and (b) the persuasive impact of the different communications. Low-CFC individuals were more persuaded when positive consequences were short term and negative consequences were long term. The opposite was true of high-CFC individuals. Path analyses show that net positive thoughts generated mediated the effect of the CFC x Time Frame manipulations on behavioral intentions.

PMID: 16846330 [PubMed - in process]

Related Articles

Changes in finding benefit after cancer surgery and the prediction of well-being one year later.

Soc Sci Med. 2006 Jun 8;

Authors: Schwarzer R, Luszczynska A, Boehmer S, Taubert S, Knoll N

Critical life events, such as cancer surgery, may result in finding some benefit in one's fate. In this longitudinal study with 117 cancer patients (73 men, 44 women) in hospitals in Berlin, we addressed three questions. (1) Do patients report benefit finding after surgery? (2) Are changes in benefit finding related to patients' well-being? (3) Is social support associated with finding benefits in cancer? Patients were interviewed and completed a questionnaire in the week before cancer surgery. They were invited to participate in the follow-up by letter with a questionnaire at one month and again at 12 months postsurgery. Benefit finding was measured by a seven-item scale assessing different facets of positive changes attributed to experiencing grave illness. Although benefit finding increased over one year, change was substantial only for those who started off at a low level. Well-being was not associated with benefit finding at any point in time. However, changes in benefit finding predicted subsequent well-being. Received support was associated with benefit finding. Changes in benefit finding as well as initial support emerged as joint predictors of well-being.

PMID: 16765495 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Assessing attention control in goal pursuit: a component of dispositional self-regulation.

J Pers Assess. 2006 Jun;86(3):306-17

Authors: Diehl M, Semegon AB, Schwarzer R

We examined the psychometric properties of the Self-Regulation Scale (SRS; Schwarzer, Diehl, & Schmitz, 1999), a measure of attention control in goal pursuit, in 2 independent studies. Study 1 included young adults (N = 443), whereas Study 2 included young, middle-aged, and older adults (N = 330). In both studies, the SRS showed good internal consistency. In Study 1, the SRS also showed satisfactory test-retest reliability over a 6-week period. We found support for the criterion validity of the SRS in terms of positive correlations with measures of general and domain-specific self-efficacy, proactive coping, and positive affect and in terms of negative correlations with depressive symptoms and negative affect. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that attention control accounted for unique portions of variance in relevant outcome variables above and beyond measures of self-efficacy and proactive coping.

PMID: 16740114 [PubMed - in process]