Norms Message Features in an Alcohol Consumption Context: Testing the Roles of Functional Matching and Numeracy.

The current study tested a theoretical account of how and when norms message features influence attitudes and intentions. Specifically, we examined whether functional matching and numeracy help to explain variation in persuasive outcomes following exposure to norms messaging. We executed two experiments to test our functional matching and numeracy assumptions in the context of alcohol consumption. Across both studies, our functional matching assumption was not supported. In Study 2, numeracy moderated the impact of descriptive norms message content on intentions to engage in heavy drinking, such that message exposure was associated with reduced drinking intentions among participants with greater levels of numeracy. In sum, the findings provided some evidence that the functional attitude approach lacked theoretical utility and that numeracy dictated the effect of norms message exposure on intentions.

Finding Common Ground: Can Provider-Patient Race Concordance and Self-disclosure Bolster Patient Trust, Perceptions, and Intentions?

BACKGROUND: Improvements in provider-patient relationships may help alleviate health disparities. Provider-patient race concordance and provider self-disclosure are variables that may help improve this relationship. PURPOSE: This study sought to answer if provider-patient race concordance and provider self-disclosure may improve patient trust, rapport, similarity, likeability, intention to disclose, satisfaction, behavioral intention to keep a provider, and intention to recommend a provider, while using empathy as a covariate. METHODS: Using 882 White or Black participants, the current research used a 2 × 2 online experimental design. Participants were asked to read a vignette in which they were told they had borderline high cholesterol and needed to eat a healthier diet, by either a Black or White male physician, who either self-disclosed or did not self-disclose regarding their own struggle to eat a healthy diet. After reading this vignette, participants were surveyed regarding the dependent variables of interest. RESULTS: Participants in a Black concordant dyad reported higher levels of similarity than those in any other dyad. Provider self-disclosure led to higher levels of trust, rapport, similarity, likeability, intention to disclose, satisfaction, behavioral intention to continue using the provider, and intention to recommend the provider. No interaction effects were found. CONCLUSION: While it is possible, based on past research, that race-concordant pairings may lead to trust via similarity, provider self-disclosure directly increased perceptions of trust as well as providing numerous other benefits. This study supports the importance of trainings for providers on health-related self-disclosure to benefit both parties in provider-patient dyads.

Extending Efforts to Move Cigarette and e-Cigarette Beliefs: Message Exposure and Belief Structures.

This study examines message exposure and belief structures in the context of tobacco prevention and education efforts. Though it is imperative that researchers identify and test messaging strategies that move beliefs in the desired direction, these efforts must take care to consider the existing belief structures of the target audience. A pretest-posttest design was employed in order to extend an existing tobacco-free initiative. The study examined how participants structured their beliefs about tobacco and the initiative at the first time point (T1: N = 404) and tested the impact of persuasive messages at a second time point (T2: N = 192). The findings indicated that while one message produced change in a targeted norms-oriented belief, a constellation of messages hold promise for modifying a broader belief structure. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for message design and tobacco-free initiatives.

Seeking Ways to Inform the Uninformed: Improving the Informed Consent Process in Online Social Science Research.

Participants often do not read consent forms in social science research. This is not surprising, especially for online studies, given they do not typically offer greater risk than what is encountered in daily life. However, if no one is reading, are participants really informed? This study used previous research to craft experimentally manipulated consent forms utilizing different visual presentations (e.g., greater use of line spacing, bullets, bolding, diagrams). Participants ( n = 547) were randomly exposed to one of seven form variations. Results found no significant differences between forms in reading or comprehension. Open-ended questions asked participants why they do not read consent forms and what would influence them to read the forms. Participants most frequently stated forms need to be shorter, and important information needs to be highlighted. We suggest improvements to informed consent forms, including removing much of the information that is constant across forms, and only including unique aspects of studies.

Fitting identity in the reasoned action framework: A meta-analysis and model comparison.

Several competing models have been put forth regarding the role of identity in the reasoned action framework. The standard model proposes that identity is a background variable. Under a typical augmented model, identity is treated as an additional direct predictor of intention and behavior. Alternatively, it has been proposed that identity measures are inadvertent indicators of an underlying intention factor (e.g., a manifest-intention model). In order to test these competing hypotheses, we used data from 73 independent studies (total N = 23,917) to conduct a series of meta-analytic structural equation models. We also tested for moderation effects based on whether there was a match between identity constructs and the target behaviors examined (e.g., if the study examined a "smoker identity" and "smoking behavior," there would be a match; if the study examined a "health conscious identity" and "smoking behavior," there would not be a match). Average effects among primary reasoned action variables were all substantial, rs = .37-.69. Results gave evidence for the manifest-intention model over the other explanations, and a moderation effect by identity-behavior matching.

Scientific Message Translation and the Heuristic Systematic Model: Insights for Designing Educational Messages About Progesterone and Breast Cancer Risks.

Results of ongoing scientific research on environmental determinants of breast cancer are not typically presented to the public in ways they can easily understand and use to take preventive actions. In this study, results of scientific studies on progesterone exposure as a risk factor for breast cancer were translated into high and low literacy level messages. Using the heuristic systematic model, this study examined how ability, motivation, and message processing (heuristic and systematic) influenced perceptions of risk beliefs and negative attitudes about progesterone exposure among women who read the translated scientific messages. Among the 1254 participants, those given the higher literacy level message had greater perceptions of risk about progesterone. Heuristic message cues of source credibility and perceived message quality, as well as motivation, also predicted risk beliefs. Finally, risk beliefs were a strong predictor of negative attitudes about exposure to progesterone. The results can help improve health education message design in terms of practitioners having better knowledge of message features that are the most persuasive to the target audiences on this topic.

Health Blogging and Social Support: A 3-Year Panel Study.

The reported study explored the implications of informal computer-mediated social support for the well-being of individuals coping with illness over the course of 3 years. A panel study was conducted in which respondents--bloggers writing about their experiences living with a health condition--reported on their perceptions of social support and well-being during 2010 and again during 2013. Among respondents who completed both questionnaires (n = 49), increases in support availability from family and friends were related to improvements in bloggers' health self-efficacy as well as improvements in bloggers' loneliness, particularly among those who also experienced increased support availability from blog readers. Increased blog reader support availability was associated with improvements in bloggers' health-related uncertainty. Among respondents who completed the initial questionnaire (N = 121), a survival analysis showed that neither support available from family and friends nor support from blog readers predicted continued health blogging over the 3-year period.

Spirituality and support: a descriptive analysis of online social support for depression.

This study examined supportive messages in spiritual and non-spiritual online support groups for depression. Both social support and religiosity have been associated with reduced depressive symptomology. Proportions of three types of support (i.e., informational, emotional, and network) were considered; messages were further delineated as being either religious or non-religious in nature. Messages (N=2,674) from two Christian and two unaffiliated online groups were analyzed. Results indicated that Christian groups communicated more informational support and General groups communicated more network support. Christian groups communicated more religious messages. This and future research is valuable to practitioners and clergy aiding depressed individuals and to the literature on social support and religion.