Plan pursuit in the context of daily fruit and vegetable consumption: The importance of cue detection and the execution of the planned behaviour for overall behaviour change.

OBJECTIVES: In action planning interventions, individuals specify and link cues with behavioural responses to implement behaviour change. To date, not much is known about how and how much the detection of the planned cue (entering and identifying the planned situation) and the execution of the planned behaviour (behavioural response exactly as planned) contribute to overall behavioural changes (changes in target behaviour) achieved by individuals. Using data from an intervention on daily fruit and vegetable (FV) action planning, this study aimed to test whether individuals' cue detection and execution of the planned behaviour are positively related to overall FV intake. DESIGN: Secondary data analyses examined diary data of the intervention condition of a randomized controlled trial. Ninety participants (80% female, aged 19-63 years) formed one FV plan and completed a 13-days post-intervention self-report diary assessing daily FV consumption and situational characteristics of each consumed FV serving. Based on these self-reports and participants' FV plan, day-to-day cue detection and the execution of the planned behaviour were coded. METHODS: With two-level models, cue detection and the execution of the planned behaviour were examined as between- and within-person predictors of daily FV intake. RESULTS: Higher between-person execution of the planned behaviour (+1.68 daily servings), higher-than-usual within-person cue detection (+0.46 daily servings), and higher-than-usual within-person execution of the planned behaviour (+0.29 daily servings) were associated with more overall FV intake. CONCLUSIONS: Detecting planned cues (within-person) and executing the planned behaviour (between- and within-person) are important for overall FV intake.

Immediate effects of a very brief planning intervention on fruit and vegetable consumption: A randomized controlled trial.

Action planning interventions can effectively promote fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption, but not much is known about the day-to-day translation of intervention planning into action. In this randomized controlled trial, immediate intervention effects of a very brief planning intervention on FV consumption during the following 13 days were investigated. After a 13-day pre-intervention diary, N = 206 participants (aged 19-66 years) were randomly allocated to a waiting-list control condition or a planning condition, where they formed one FV plan. Participants from both conditions completed a 13-day post-intervention diary. Self-reported daily FV consumption, FV-specific self-efficacy, and action control were assessed. Segmented linear mixed models estimating a discrete change (i.e. "jump") between diary phases showed a positive "jump" of FV intake and self-efficacy in the planning condition when compared to the control condition. For action control, such effects were not observed. Changes in study variables throughout the post-intervention phase did not differ between both conditions. Present findings extend previous evidence on action planning interventions by showing that increases in self-regulatory (i.e. self-efficacy) and behavioral (i.e. FV intake) outcomes can occur very rapidly and already on the first day for which behavioral increases were planned.

Improving employees' work-related well-being and physical health through a technology-based physical activity intervention: A randomized intervention-control group study.

Although activity trackers are becoming more popular, little is known whether this new technology qualifies to improve employees' health. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a workplace intervention applying activity trackers (behavioral approach) along with an online coach (cognitive approach) on work-related well-being (e.g., burnout) and physical health (e.g., body mass index). To test for intervention effects, 116 employees at risk were recruited at 1 large mobility enterprise in Germany and randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 59) and a control group (n = 57). Intervention effects were assessed 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year after the intervention. Analyses of variance for repeated measures revealed no intervention or long-term effects on work-related well-being. In the intervention group, we found a significant increase in health perception and a significant decrease in body mass index. These effects were stable over time 3 months after the intervention for health perception and 1 year after the intervention for body mass index. Our study shows that a cognitive-behavioral intervention with activity trackers improved physical health over time but was not effective in enhancing work-related well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Social network, autonomy, and adherence correlates of future time perspective in patients with head and neck cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Socioemotional selectivity theory proposes that, with more limited future time perspective (FTP), the meaning of individual life goals shifts from instrumental and long-term goals, such as autonomy, to emotionally meaningful and short-term life goals, especially concerning meaningful social relationships. Adverse side effects of cancer therapy may conflict with the realization of emotionally meaningful goals leading to nonadherence. In line with the theoretical assumptions, this study aimed to investigate (a) associations among disease symptoms, physical and cognitive limitations, and FTP and (b) among FTP, family network size, striving for autonomy, and treatment adherence. METHOD: One hundred fifty-seven patients (43-90 years; 75% male) with head and/or neck cancer of a German University Medical Centre completed a questionnaire measuring FTP, age, disease symptoms, physical and cognitive functioning, family network size, and treatment adherence. Autonomy was assessed with a card sort task. RESULTS: A structural equation model yielded an acceptable fit χ2 (28) = 44.41, P = .025, χ2 /df = 1.59, root mean square error of approximation = 0.06 (90% CI = 0.02, 0.09), Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.92, and Comparative Fit Index = 0.96. An increased level of disease symptoms and physical and cognitive limitations was related to a shorter subjective FTP. Furthermore, individuals with a limited FTP reported a smaller family network, a lowered quest for autonomy, and lower treatment adherence. CONCLUSIONS: Hypotheses derived from socioemotional selectivity theory were supported by the data. Longitudinal investigations should follow to corroborate findings and to focus on underlying mechanisms as improving patients FTP may play a crucial role in future disease management programs.

Which characteristics of planning matter? Individual and dyadic physical activity plans and their effects on plan enactment.

OBJECTIVE: Past research supports individual planning as an effective intervention strategy to increase physical activity in individuals. A similar strategy, dyadic planning, adds a planning partner who supports an individual's planning processes. Whether the two planning formats differ in terms of participants' entered plan content and whether and how different content characteristics are linked to plan enactment remains unknown. By investigating the content of generated plans, this study aimed at distinguishing plan characteristics of the two planning formats and examining their role as predictors of later plan enactment. METHODS: Secondary analyses of a three-arm RCT with German couples (data collection between 2013 and 2015). Couples were assigned to an individual (IPC, n = 114) or dyadic planning condition (DPC, n = 111) and formulated up to 5 physical activity plans for a target person. Couples assigned to a control condition were not included as they did not generate plans. The following characteristics were distinguished and coded for each plan: number of planned opportunities, presence of a planned routine, planned cue- or activity-related specificity, activity-related intensity, and chronological plan rank. One week before (T0) and two weeks following (T2) the intervention (T1), increase vs. no increase of the planned activity was coded as a dichotomous plan enactment variable. Multilevel logistic regressions were fit. RESULTS: Plan enactment was higher in dyadic than in individual planners. Findings indicated that routines (e.g., after work) were positively related to plan enactment, whereas a high specificity of when-cues (e.g., Friday at 6.30 p.m.) showed a negative relationship. None of the examined plan characteristics could explain differences in enactment between IPC and DPC. CONCLUSIONS: Linking health behaviours to other behavioural routines seems beneficial for subsequent plan enactment. Dyadic planning was linked with higher enactment rates than individual planning. However, as mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear, they should be investigated further.

What contributes to action plan enactment? Examining characteristics of physical activity plans.

OBJECTIVES: Individuals with chronic conditions can benefit from formulating action plans to engage in regular physical activity. However, the content and the successful translation of plans into action, so-called plan enactment, are rarely adequately evaluated. The aim of this study was to describe the content of user-specified plans and to examine whether participants were more likely to enact their plans if these plans were highly specific, viable, and instrumental. DESIGN AND METHODS: The study presents secondary analyses from a larger behavioural intervention in cardiac and orthopaedic rehabilitation. The content of 619 action plans from 229 participants was evaluated by two independent raters (i.e., qualitative analyses and ratings of specificity) and by participants themselves (i.e., instrumentality and viability). Plan enactment was also measured via self-reports. Multilevel analyses examined the relationship between these plan characteristics and subsequent plan enactment, and between plan enactment and aggregated physical activity. RESULTS: Participants preferred to plan leisure-time physical activities anchored around time-based cues. Specificity of occasion cues (i.e., when to act) and highly instrumental plans were positively associated with plan enactment. Interestingly, individuals who planned less specific behavioural responses (i.e., what to do) were more likely to enact their plans. Plan enactment was positively associated with aggregated behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions should not only emphasize the importance of planning, but also the benefits of formulating specific contextual cues. Planning of the behavioural response seems to require less precision. Allowing for some flexibility in executing the anticipated target behaviour seems to aid successful plan enactment. Statement of Contribution What is already known on this subject? Action planning interventions are efficacious in promoting health behaviour. Characteristics of plan content (i.e., specificity) matter for unconditional behaviour change. Plan enactment (i.e., degree to which plan is followed through) is positively linked to behaviour change. What does this study add? Specificity of occasion cues (i.e., when to act) and highly instrumental plans were positively associated with plan enactment. Individuals who planned less specific behavioural responses (i.e., what to do) were more likely to enact their plans. Planning interventions should focus on specificity of context cues but flexibility of behavioural action.

Predictors of dyadic planning: Perspectives of prostate cancer survivors and their partners.

OBJECTIVES: Extending individual planning of health behaviour change to the level of the dyad, dyadic planning refers to a target person and a planning partner jointly planning the target person's health behaviour change. To date, predictors of dyadic planning have not been systematically investigated. Integrating cognitive predictors of individual planning with four established predictor domains of social support provision, we propose a framework of predictors of dyadic planning. Including target persons' and partners' perspectives, we examine these predictor domains in the context of prostate cancer patients' rehabilitative pelvic floor exercise (PFE) following radical prostatectomy. DESIGN: Longitudinal data from 175 patients and their partners were analysed in a study with four post-surgery assessments across 6 months. METHODS: PFE-related dyadic planning was assessed from both partners together with indicators from four predictor domains: context, target person, partner, and relationship factors. Individual planning and social support served as covariates. RESULTS: Findings from two-level models nesting repeated assessments in individuals showed that context (patients' incontinence), target person (i.e., positive affect and self-efficacy), and relationship factors (i.e., relationship satisfaction) were uniquely associated with dyadic planning, whereas partner factors (i.e., positive and negative affects) were not. Factors predicting patients' and partners' accounts of dyadic planning differed. CONCLUSIONS: Resembling prior findings on antecedents of support provision in this context, partner factors did not prevail as unique predictors of dyadic planning, whereas indicators from all other predictor domains did. To establish predictive direction, future work should use lagged predictions with shorter intermeasurement intervals. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Dyadic planning has been shown to be linked to health behaviour change. However, its role in behaviour regulation frameworks is not well investigated, especially regarding factors that might be predictive of dyadic planning. What does this study add? A framework of predictors of dyadic planning in the health behaviour change process is presented. The framework is investigated accounting for both planning partners' perspectives. Context, target person, and relationship factors were related to dyadic planning.

A Computerized Lifestyle Application to Promote Multiple Health Behaviors at the Workplace: Testing Its Behavioral and Psychological Effects.

BACKGROUND: Preventive health behaviors, such as regular physical activity and healthy nutrition, are recommended to maintain employability and to facilitate the health of employees. Theory-based workplace health promotion needs to include psychological constructs and consider the motivational readiness (so-called stages of change) of employees. According to the stages, people can be grouped as nonintenders (not motivated to change and not performing the goal behavior), intenders (decided to adopt the goal behavior but not started yet), or actors (performing the goal behavior already). The tailoring to these stages can be done computer based and should make workplace health promotion more effective. OBJECTIVE: It was tested whether a parsimonious computer-based health promotion program implemented at the workplace was effective in terms of lifestyle changes and psychological outcomes as well as body weight. We hypothesized that the stage-matched intervention would outperform the one-size-fits-all active control condition (standard care intervention). METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial, a total of 1269 employees were recruited by a trained research assistant at their workplace during a routine medical examination. After excluding noneligible employees, 560 completed Time 1 (T1), and 384 also completed Time 2 (T2), achieving a retention rate of 68.6%. Two fully automated computer-based treatments were adopted: (1) an active control condition with information about benefits of exercise and healthy nutrition (n=52), or (2) a stage-matched multiple-behavior intervention that provided different psychological treatments to 9 subgroups, addressing stages of change (nonintenders, intenders, and actors per behavior; n=332). Baseline assessments (T1) on behavior, psychological constructs, and body weight were repeated after 4 weeks (T2). RESULTS: The stage-matched intervention outperformed the active control condition for lifestyle changes containing physical activity and nutrition (χ(2) 1=3.5; P=.04, for N=384) as well as psychological variables (physical activity intention, P=.04; nutrition intention, P=.03; nutrition planning, P=.02; and general social support to live healthily, P=.01). When predicting a healthy lifestyle at follow-up, baseline lifestyle (odds ratio, OR, 2.25, 95% CI 1.73-2.92; P<.01) and the intervention (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.00-3.82; P=.05) were found to be significant predictors. Physical activity planning mediated the effect of the intervention on the adoption of an overall healthy lifestyle (consisting of activity and nutrition, R(2) adj=.08; P<.01), indicating that if the stage-matched intervention increased planning, the adoption of a healthy lifestyle was more likely. CONCLUSIONS: Matching an intervention to the motivational readiness of employees can make a health promotion program effective. Employees' motivation, planning, social support, and lifestyle can be supported by a stage-matched intervention that focuses on both physical activity and healthy nutrition. Occupational settings provide a potential to implement parsimonious computer-based health promotion programs and to facilitate multiple behavior change.

Individual and dyadic planning predicting pelvic floor exercise among prostate cancer survivors.

UNLABELLED: [Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 60(3) of Rehabilitation Psychology (see record 2015-40319-001). Aleksandra Luszczynska's institutional affiliation was incorrectly set as Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities. It should have been University of Social Sciences and Humanities. All versions of this article have been corrected.] OBJECTIVE: Radical prostatectomy, a standard treatment for localized prostate cancer, is often followed by a recommendation to initiate and maintain pelvic floor exercise (PFE), to control postsurgery urinary incontinence. Previous studies showed that planning facilitated the uptake and maintenance of a new behavior. Whereas individual planning addresses the setting of plans by 1 person, dyadic planning refers to creating plans together with a partner on when, where, and how the individual target person will perform a behavior. Individual and dyadic planning of PFE, their development over time, and their associations with PFE were investigated. RESEARCH METHOD: In a correlational study, 175 prostate-cancer patients provided data at 1, 3, 5, and 7 months following the onset of incontinence. Individual planning of PFE by patients and dyadic planning of PFE between patients and their partners, PFE, and incontinence were assessed by patients' self-reports. RESULTS: Two-level models with repeated assessments nested in individuals revealed stable levels of individual planning of PFE over time in patients with higher incontinence severity, whereas patients with receding incontinence showed decreases. Independent of incontinence severity, a curvilinear increase followed by a decrease of dyadic planning of PFE across time emerged. Sequential associations of both planning strategies with PFE were found. Whereas individual planning was steadily associated with PFE, associations between dyadic planning and PFE were nonsignificant in the beginning, but increased over time. CONCLUSIONS: Findings point to the importance of individual planning for the adoption and maintenance of PFE, with dyadic planning being relevant for PFE maintenance only.

Cross-behavior associations and multiple health behavior change: A longitudinal study on physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake.

This study aimed to examine the interrelation of physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake. The influence of stage congruence between physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake on multiple behavior change was also investigated. Health behaviors, social-cognitions, and stages of change were assessed in 2693 adults at two points in time. Physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake were assessed 4 weeks after the baseline. Social-cognitions, stages as well as stage transitions across behavior domains were positively interrelated. Stage congruence was not related to changes in physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake. Physical activity and nutrition appear to facilitate rather than hinder each other. Having intentions to change both behaviors simultaneously does not seem to overburden individuals.

Calibrating Independence Goals and Partner Support: Couples Adjust to Functional Limitations after Tumor Surgery.

BACKGROUND: When patients recover from disease-related functional limitations, support received from partners may not always match patients' changing independence goals. The lines of defense (LoD) model proposes a hierarchy of independence goals (LoDs), ranging from minimising discomfort by disengagement (lowest LoD) to protection of self-reliance (highest LoD). Prostate cancer patients' LoDs were examined as moderators of the association between partner support and patients' and partners' affect during patients' recovery from postsurgical functional limitations. METHODS: Data from 169 couples were assessed four times within 7 months following patients' surgery. Patients reported on post-surgery functional limitations (i.e. incontinence), LoDs, affect, and received partner support. Partners reported on affect and support provided to patients. RESULTS: In patients endorsing lower LoDs, more received support was associated with less negative affect. Also, not endorsing high LoDs while receiving strong partner support was related to patients' lower negative and higher positive affect. Partners' support provision to patients tended to be associated with increases in partners' negative affect when patients had endorsed higher LoDs and with increases in positive affect when patients had endorsed lower LoDs. CONCLUSIONS: Matching patients' independence goals or LoDs with partners' support may be beneficial for patients' and partners' affect.

Prostate cancer patients gradually advance goals for rehabilitation after radical prostatectomy: applying a lines-of-defense model to rehabilitation.

Following tumor surgery, urinary incontinence challenges prostate cancer patients' functional health. Adjustments of functional goals (lines of defense [LoDs]) were examined during rehabilitation from incontinence. A conceptual model proposing stepwise and distinct upward adjustments of LoDs, ranging from minimizing discomfort (lowest LoD) to protecting self-reliance (highest LoD), was investigated. Within 7 months following the onset of incontinence, 175 patients completed questionnaires at 4 occasions. A theory-based hierarchy was imposed on time-invariant latent classes of LoD-endorsements. As incontinence receded, patients transitioned upward through the hierarchy of LoD-classes, matched LoDs to concurrent incontinence levels, and thus promptly claimed independent functioning with physical improvements.

Healthy eating at different risk levels for job stress: testing a moderated mediation.

Health behavior, like fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC), is affected by unfavorable job conditions. However, there is little research to date that combines job stress models and health-behavior change models. This longitudinal study examined the contribution of risk factors associated with job stress to the intention-planning-FVC relationship. In the context of the Health Action Process Approach, action planning (when-where-how plans) and coping planning (plans to overcome anticipated barriers) have been shown to be successful mediators in the translation of health-related intentions into action. Risk factors for job stress are operationalized as the interaction of job demands and job resources in line with the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. Two hundred seventy-two employees (mean age 41.2 years, 73.9% female) from different jobs completed measures of intention at baseline (t1), action planning and coping planning 2 weeks later (t2), and FVC another 2 weeks later (t3). Job demands and job resources were assessed at t1 and t2. A moderated mediation analysis indicated that risk factors for job stress moderate the translation of intention into action planning (B = -0.23, p < .05) and coping planning (B = -0.14, p < .05). No moderation effect of the planning-FVC relationship by risk factors for job stress was found. However, coping planning directly predicted FVC (B = 0.36, p < .001). Findings suggest that employees intending to eat healthily use action planning and coping planning when job demands exceed job resources. For increasing FVC, coping planning appears most beneficial.

Intrinsic rewards, fruit and vegetable consumption, and habit strength: a three-wave study testing the associative-cybernetic model.

BACKGROUND: Habit formation is thought to lead to long-term maintenance of fruit and vegetable consumption. Habits develop through context-dependent repetition, but additional variables such as intrinsic reward of behaviour may influence habit strength. Drawing upon the Associative-Cybernetic Model, this exploratory study tested different pathways by which intrinsic reward may influence fruit and vegetable consumption habit strength. METHODS: In a three-wave study of fruit and vegetable intake in adults (N = 127) from the general population, intrinsic reward, intention, and self-efficacy were assessed at baseline, fruit and vegetable consumption and intrinsic reward two weeks later, and habit strength another two weeks later. Direct, indirect, and moderation effects of intrinsic reward on habit strength were tested simultaneously in a moderated mediation model. RESULTS: Intrinsic reward had a positive indirect effect on habit strength through its influence on the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption. Further, the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and habit was stronger where consumption was considered more intrinsically rewarding. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the potential relevance of intrinsic reward to habit. We suggest that intrinsic rewards from behaviour may not only facilitate habit via behaviour frequency, but also reinforce the relationship between behavioural repetition and habit strength.

Multiple plans and memory performance: results of a randomized controlled trial targeting fruit and vegetable intake.

To test whether forming and memorizing more action plans has larger effects than generating fewer plans. In a randomized controlled trial with five intervention groups and one control group, 478 participants were asked to form one, two, three, four, or five action plans, or to complete questionnaires only (control group). One week later, behavior change was measured and participants of the intervention groups completed a free recall task. Outcome measures are daily intake of fruit and vegetables as well as recall of plans. Fruit and vegetable intake increased with higher numbers of plans, and was significantly larger in groups that formed four (d = 0.36) or five plans (d = 0.48) as compared to controls. The sum of recalled plans reflected the number of generated plans, but was unrelated to behavior change. Generating multiple plans benefits behavior change, but to be implemented they need not be recalled.

Changes in intentions, planning, and self-efficacy predict changes in behaviors: an application of latent true change modeling.

Can latent true changes in intention, planning, and self-efficacy account for latent change in two health behaviors (physical activity as well as fruit and vegetable intake)? Baseline data on predictors and behaviors and corresponding follow-up data four weeks later were collected from 853 participants. Interindividual differences in change and change-change associations were analyzed using structural equation modeling. For both behaviors, similar prediction patterns were found: changes in intention and self-efficacy predicted changes in planning, which in turn corresponded to changes in behavior. This evidence confirms that change predicts change, which is an inherent precondition in behavior change theories.

Differential effects of planning and self-efficacy on fruit and vegetable consumption.

To change dietary behaviors, people must be motivated to do so. But intentions often do not translate into behavior. Strategic planning (as a mediator) is expected to move people from intention to action. However, individuals who lack perceived self-efficacy might fail to apply their plans when encountering challenging situations. Thus, self-efficacy might operate as a moderator variable when it comes to studying the mediator effects of planning on behaviors. This study examines the interactive role of planning and self-efficacy in the context of dietary changes. A longitudinal sample of 411 employees was surveyed twice in terms of their fruit and vegetable consumption over a 4-week interval. Intentions, planning, and fruit and vegetable consumption were specified as a mediator chain with self-efficacy as a moderator at two stages of the putative change process. Baseline behavior served as a covariate in the model. Intentions were translated into dietary behavior by planning. Self-efficacy moderated this mediation at the second stage, reflected by a planning x self-efficacy interaction on fruit and vegetable consumption. The strength of the mediated effect increased along with levels of self-efficacy. Individuals with very low self-efficacy did not benefit from planning. If a person lacks self-efficacy, planning does not seem to translate intentions into fruit and vegetable consumption.

Planning bridges the intention-behaviour gap: age makes a difference and strategy use explains why.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines age-differential association patterns between intentions, planning and physical activity in young and middle-aged individuals. The effectiveness of planning to bridge the intention-behaviour gap is assumed to increase with advancing age. We explore the use of behaviour change strategies that include selection, optimisation and compensation (SOC) as underlying mechanisms for age differences. METHODS: In N = 265 employees of a national railway company (aged 19-64 years), intentions, planning, SOC strategy use and physical activity were assessed at baseline (Time 1) and again 1 month later (Time 2). Hypotheses were tested in two different path models. RESULTS: Age moderates the extent to which planning mediates the intention-behaviour relation due to an increasing strength of the planning-behaviour link. As a possible psychological mechanism for these age differences, we identified SOC strategy use as a mediator of the age by planning interaction effect on physical activity. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest differential mechanisms in behaviour regulation in young and middle-aged individuals.

Translating intentions into nutrition behaviors via planning requires self-efficacy: evidence from Thailand and Germany.

A first step towards the improvement of daily dietary behaviors is forming an intention to change one's nutrition. However, an intention by itself is not sufficient for successful action. Rather, to translate intentions into behavior, careful planning is recommended. Thus, planning constitutes a mediator between the intention and the behavior. However, if a person lacks self-efficacy, this mediation might fail. Previous research in Costa Rica and South Korea has identified perceived self-efficacy as a moderator of the intention-planning-behavior relationship. To examine further the moderator role of self-efficacy, two additional studies were designed in Thailand and Germany. Study 1 surveyed 1718 Thai university students in terms of a low-fat diet; Study 2 surveyed 1140 German internet users in terms of their fruit and vegetable consumption at two measurement points in time, 6 months apart. Intentions served as predictor, planning as mediator, self-efficacy as moderator, and behaviors as outcomes. First, intentions were translated into nutrition behaviors by planning. Second, self-efficacy moderated this mediation in both studies: The strength of the mediated effect increased along with levels of self-efficacy, even when accounting for baseline behaviors. For planning to mediate the intention-behavior relation, people must not harbor self-doubts. If they lack self-efficacy, intentions are not well translated into nutrition behavior through planning.

Effects of a short behavioural intervention for dental flossing: randomized-controlled trial on planning when, where and how.

AIM: Regular dental flossing has been widely recommended to prevent periodontal diseases. Nevertheless, compliance is below a desirable level. This study evaluates the effects of a brief behavioural intervention on dental flossing and determines whether the effects of such an intervention are stronger in a specific subgroup of individuals (those intending to floss regularly=implemental mindset). MATERIALS AND METHOD: Behavioural intervention (planning when, where and how to floss) trial was conducting with 194 participants assigned to an intervention or a control group by a random time schedule; the primary outcome was validated self-report of flossing behaviour. Follow-up data were collected 2 and 8 weeks post-intervention. RESULTS: Individuals receiving the planning intervention significantly outperformed those in the control condition at both the 2- and the 8-week follow-up (4.24 times flossing/week versus 3.9 at 2 weeks; 4.02 versus 2.98 at 8 weeks). Intervention effects were stronger in individuals in the implemental mindset. Dropout rates were higher for participants who received the planning intervention but were not in the implemental mindset. CONCLUSION: Planning interventions are an economic and effective way to change oral self-care behaviour, and are more effective in individuals in an implemental mindset.