Shared Reality Can Reduce Stressor Reactivity.

When a person faces a stressor alongside someone else, do they get more or less stressed when the other person agrees that the situation is stressful? While an equally stressed partner could plausibly amplify stress by making the situation seem more real and worthy of distress, we find that social validation during co-experienced stressors reduces reactivity. Specifically, the psychological experience of shared reality calms some people down. In Study 1, 70 undergraduate females who jointly faced a stressful event with someone else reported feeling less anxious when the other person felt the same way about the stressor, relative to when the other person appraised the situation in the opposite way or provided no indication of their appraisal. These findings were reflected in participants' physiological reactivity, especially in the parasympathetic nervous system. In Study 2, we generalize these findings to co-experienced stressors in the daily lives of 102 heteronormative romantic couples in the New York City area. In line with tend-and-befriend theory, we found that shared reality during co-experienced stressors reduced anxiety for almost all females (99% of the sample) and for a minority of males (42% of the sample). Together, these findings unify major theories in health and social psychology by implying that shared reality reduces stressor reactivity, and that this effect is partially moderated by sex.

Mood and judgment in a dyadic stress context.

The 1980s and 1990s witnessed a surge of psychological research addressing the role of affect in social judgments. Evaluations of others were shown to be shaped, at least in part, by a person's incidental mood in the moment of social evaluation; while negative moods instigated negative interpersonal evaluations, positive moods instigated positive interpersonal evaluations. Interestingly, these effects only emerged when the reason for the evaluator's mood was not obvious. Over 30 years later, we expand these findings to the dyadic domain. Rather than conceptualize interpersonal evaluations as occurring solely within an individual, we introduce the Dyadic Affect Infusion/Diffusion (DAID) model to suggest that interpersonal evaluations occur as fundamentally dyadic phenomena. Using 6 weeks of daily diary data from 311 couples in which one member approached a stressful event, we show that (a) mood influences relationship evaluations at both the intraindividual (i.e., affect infusion) and interindividual (i.e., affect diffusion) levels, (b) both affect infusion and affect diffusion are turned off by the availability of attributional information, and (c) these effects are better explained by affect infusion/diffusion rather than by several alternative mechanisms. Taken together, the DAID model bolsters the view that individualistic approaches to emotion and social cognition are insufficient and require theory and data at the dyadic and group levels of analysis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Physical effects of daily stressors are psychologically mediated, heterogeneous, and bidirectional.

Prior research shows that daily stressors lead to greater psychological distress. A separate body of research links daily stressors to physical symptoms such as backaches and stomach problems. We integrate these literatures by positing an interconnected causal system, whereby stressors lead to psychological distress which, in turn, leads to physical symptoms. Our integrated approach also includes causal effects in the opposing directions: Psychological distress can increase physical symptoms and physical symptoms can increase psychological distress. Put simply, causal effects are bidirectional. This finding illuminates the concept of feedback loops, which have never been investigated in the stress literature until now. We find that reverberating feedback between stressors and distress equilibrates after just one and a half loops and that feedback between stressors and physical symptoms does not actually reach a full loop. Because of this, feedback loops have only minor consequences for physical symptoms by the end of the day. Finally, we discuss the aforementioned phenomena with between-person differences at the forefront, showing how some people are as much as four times as reactive as the average person, some people are not reactive at all, and other people are reactive in reverse directions (e.g., distress leads to fewer physical symptoms). We empirically support these claims using daily diary data from three separate studies that together represent diverse ages, geographic regions, relationship statuses, and racial identities. Once established, we consider the implications of our integrated causal feedback system in relation to existing knowledge and highlight critical areas for future study. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Investigating the Efficacy of Genetic, Environmental, and Multifactorial Risk Information When Communicating Obesity Risk to Parents of Young Children.

BACKGROUND: Effectively communicating with parents about children's obesity risk is of critical importance for preventive medicine and public health. PURPOSE: The current study investigates the efficacy of communications focused on two primary causes of obesity: genes and environment. METHODS: We compared parental feeding responses to messages focused on (i) genetics alone, (ii) family environment alone, (iii) genetics-family environment interaction (G × FE), and (iv) no causal message. We also examined whether parental guilt mediates the effect of message type on feeding. Our sample consisted of 190 parents, half mothers and half fathers, of children 3-7 years old. After receiving one of the four types of messages, parents chose foods for their child using the Virtual Reality Buffet measure. Parents responded to questionnaires in the lab and at 1-week follow-up. RESULTS: In the VR Buffet, parents did not feed their children differently in message provision conditions versus control. There were, however, differences among message provision conditions wherein mothers who received any genetic information chose higher-calorie meals in the VR Buffet. At 1-week follow-up, parents who received information about genetics alone reported feeding their child more junk food and fatty meat on self-report food frequency assessments; there were no such differences for sugary beverages, sugary foods, or fast foods. Parental guilt was typically higher for participants who received family environment information alone but did not mediate the relation between information provision and feeding outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: While none of the messages improved feeding above the control condition, GxFE messages were associated with a better overall profile of outcomes. As such, it may be beneficial for messaging for parents about children's obesity risk to include content that reflects the complexity of genetic and environmental contributions to obesity risk.

Parental Defensiveness about Multifactorial Genomic and Environmental Causes of Children's Obesity Risk.

Background: Future integration of genomics into weight management may target children with overweight given prospects for prevention. Meanwhile, parents learn about weight-related genomics primarily through the media, and little is known about parental reactions to complex genomic and environmental causes underlying children's obesity risk. Methods: Three hundred twenty-four parents with overweight who have a child 3-13 years of age were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Parents were randomized to read an article highlighting one of three causes of obesity risk: genetics only, family environment only, gene-family environment interactions (G × FE), or read a control article. Results: Parents who perceived their child to be overweight exhibited increased risk perception and guilt over parents of lean children overall, but exhibited decreased worry in response to the G × FE message. Furthermore, parents of children with overweight who received the G × FE message did not exhibit heightened risk perception or guilt, reported that the message was less relevant, and that they paid less attention to it. Conclusions: Multifactorial causal information about children's obesity risk elicits unintended consequences among parents whose children are most at-risk for obesity in adulthood. As these messages are most accurate, it is crucial to investigate effective ways to communicate the holistic nature of obesity risk to parents.

Effects of Fruit and Vegetable Feeding Messages on Mothers and Fathers: Interactions Between Emotional State and Health Message Framing.

BACKGROUND: There is a pressing need to craft optimal public health messages promoting healthy feeding behaviors among parents. How these messages influence such feeding decisions are affected by multiple interactive factors including emotional states, message framing, and gender, but these factors have not been studied in the domain of parents' feeding of their children. PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of message framing, emotional state, and parent gender on feeding choices that parents make for their children. METHODS: In 2016-2017, 190 parents (126 mothers) of 4- to 7-year-old children were randomly assigned to an anger or fear emotion induction and read either a gain- or loss-framed message about the importance of children's fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption prior to choosing foods for their child from a virtual reality buffet. RESULTS: Mothers in an angry state who received a gain-framed message chose relatively more FV for their child in the virtual buffet, F(3, 180) = 4.77, p = .027. However, fathers in this group did not feed more FV, but rather reported greater intention to improve future FV feeding, F(3, 180) = 4.91, p = .028. CONCLUSIONS: Providing gain-framed messages to parents, particularly mothers, in an anger state may be most effective for motivating healthy dietary choices for children. CLINICAL TRIAL INFORMATION: clinicaltrials.gov NCT02622035.

Mothers' and fathers' cognitive and affective responses to epigenetics concepts.

Advances in our understanding of epigenetics present new opportunities to improve children's health through the counseling of parents about epigenetics concepts. However, it is important to first evaluate how parents respond to this type of information and determine the consequences of educating parents about epigenetics. We have taken an initial step toward this goal by assessing parental responses to an epigenetics learning module. Parents (n = 190, 126 mothers) responded to pre- and post-module survey questions. Prior to the module, parents reported that mothers' lifestyles prior to conception were more important for children's health than fathers' lifestyles prior to conception (t = 4.49, df = 316.5, P < 0.0001). However, after the module, there was no difference between ratings of the importance of mothers' and fathers' preconception lifestyles (t = 1.18, df = 319.8, P = NS). Furthermore, after viewing the module, parents increased their ratings of the importance of both mothers' (t = -5.65, df = 294.8, P < 0.0001) and father's (t = -9.01, df = 287.2, P < 0.0001) preconception lifestyles for child health. After viewing the module, most parents reported feelings of guilt and negativity regarding epigenetics (78 and 55%, respectively). When compared with lean parents, parents with overweight more often reported feelings of guilt (χ 2 =10.27, P = 0.001). This work represents an important first step in evaluating parental responses to epigenetics concepts.

Genomics-informed weight management in primary care: anticipated public interest.

AIM: An exploratory survey assessed the influence of current and potential future genomic applications for weight management on individuals' desires to address weight management within primary care. Materials & methods: A convenience sample of 714 US adults aged 18-70 completed an online survey that presented three scenarios: no genomic information; current genomic capabilities; and potential future applications of genomics for weight management. RESULTS: Participants had increased interest in weight management assistance through primary care when considering genomic applications in weight management, p (1,1.68) = 24.66, p < 0.001; this increase was more robust among individuals who felt their weight was important for their health, p (1,1.68) = 20.85, p < 0.001. CONCLUSION: Primary care systems may need to accommodate a rise in the volume of patients seeking weight management assistance as genomic approaches come to fruition.

Modeling Dynamic Food Choice Processes to Understand Dietary Intervention Effects.

Background: Meal construction is largely governed by nonconscious and habit-based processes that can be represented as a collection of in dividual, micro-level food choices that eventually give rise to a final plate. Despite this, dietary behavior intervention research rarely captures these micro-level food choice processes, instead measuring outcomes at aggregated levels. This is due in part to a dearth of analytic techniques to model these dynamic time-series events. Purpose: The current article addresses this limitation by applying a generalization of the relational event framework to model micro-level food choice behavior following an educational intervention. Method: Relational event modeling was used to model the food choices that 221 mothers made for their child following receipt of an information-based intervention. Participants were randomized to receive either (a) control information; (b) childhood obesity risk information; (c) childhood obesity risk information plus a personalized family history-based risk estimate for their child. Participants then made food choices for their child in a virtual reality-based food buffet simulation. Results: Micro-level aspects of the built environment, such as the ordering of each food in the buffet, were influential. Other dynamic processes such as choice inertia also influenced food selection. Among participants receiving the strongest intervention condition, choice inertia decreased and the overall rate of food selection increased. Conclusions: Modeling food selection processes can elucidate the points at which interventions exert their influence. Researchers can leverage these findings to gain insight into nonconscious and uncontrollable aspects of food selection that influence dietary outcomes, which can ultimately improve the design of dietary interventions.

Validity of assessing child feeding with virtual reality.

Assessment of parents' child feeding behavior is challenging, and there is need for additional methodological approaches. Virtual reality technology allows for the creation of behavioral measures, and its implementation overcomes several limitations of existing methods. This report evaluates the validity and usability of the Virtual Reality (VR) Buffet among a sample of 52 parents of children aged 3-7. Participants served a meal of pasta and apple juice in both a virtual setting and real-world setting (counterbalanced and separated by a distractor task). They then created another meal for their child, this time choosing from the full set of food options in the VR Buffet. Finally, participants completed a food estimation task followed by a questionnaire, which assessed their perceptions of the VR Buffet. Results revealed that the amount of virtual pasta served by parents correlated significantly with the amount of real pasta they served, rs = 0.613, p < .0001, as did served amounts of virtual and real apple juice, rs = 0.822, p < .0001. Furthermore, parents' perception of the calorie content of chosen foods was significantly correlated with observed calorie content (rs = 0.438, p = .002), and parents agreed that they would feed the meal they created to their child (M = 4.43, SD = 0.82 on a 1-5 scale). The data presented here demonstrate that parent behavior in the VR Buffet is highly related to real-world behavior, and that the tool is well-rated by parents. Given the data presented and the potential benefits of the abundant behavioral data the VR Buffet can provide, we conclude that it is a valid and needed addition to the array of tools for assessing feeding behavior.

Beliefs about genetic influences on eating behaviors: Characteristics and associations with weight management confidence.

INTRODUCTION: The development of precision approaches for customized health interventions is a promising application of genomic discovery. To optimize such weight management interventions, target audiences will need to be engaged in research and implementation efforts. Investigation into approaches that engage these audiences will be required to ensure that genomic information, particularly with respect to genomic influences on endophenotypes like eating behavior, is understood and accepted, and not associated with unintended adverse outcomes. We took steps to characterize healthy individuals' beliefs about genetic influences on eating behavior. METHODS: Data were collected via online survey from 261 participants selected at random from a database. RESULTS: Respondents infrequently spontaneously identified eating behavior-related factors as running in families. However, those who perceived themselves as overweight and perceived a family history of overweight were more likely to attribute eating behavior to genetics on closed-ended assessments, ß=0.252, p=0.039. Genetic attributions for eating behaviors were associated with lower confidence in ability to control eating and weight, ß=-0.119, p=0.035. CONCLUSIONS: These exploratory findings shed light on beliefs about genetic influences on eating, a behavioral trait (rather than a disease). This investigation can inform future health intervention efforts.