Diminishing Psychological Reactance Through Self-Transcendent Media Experiences: A Self-Report and Psychophysiological Investigation.

Health communication scholars have provided ample evidence demonstrating the ways in which freedom-threatening language used in persuasive health messages evokes freedom-threat perceptions, state psychological reactance, and intentions to engage in behaviors opposite of those recommended by the health message. This study examined a novel mitigation strategy for diminishing these outcomes. We examined whether prior exposure to entertainment portrayals of moral virtue (versus a neutral video) can dampen audiences' psychological reactance, intentions to consume alcohol, and defensive message processing via their psychophysiological responses to a subsequent, freedom-threatening excessive alcohol consumption public service announcement (PSA). The results revealed that participants who viewed entertainment portrayals of moral virtue (N = 50 college-aged participants) self-reported higher levels of elevation, moved, and inspiration relative to participants in the control condition (N = 50 college-aged participants). Participants who were exposed to entertainment portrayals of moral virtue prior to the excessive alcohol consumption PSA also self-reported less psychological reactance and fewer behavioral intentions to consume alcohol following the excessive alcohol consumption PSA than participants in the control condition. Consistent with these self-report data, participants in the entertainment portrayals of moral virtue condition exhibited less defensive message processing of the excessive alcohol consumption PSA via their psychophysiological responses relative to the control group. The results indicate that initial exposure to entertainment portrayals of moral virtue can dampen audiences' cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to a subsequent, freedom-threatening health message, thereby increasing the chances of improved health outcomes.

Racial Differences in Response to Chadwick Boseman's Colorectal Cancer Death: Media Use as a Coping Tool for Parasocial Grief.

The August 2020 death of Black actor Chadwick Boseman, at age 43 from colon cancer was a notable public event. Given Boseman's popularity, particularly amongst Black audiences, and racial disparities in colorectal cancer rates, public responses to this news provided a window into potential racial differences in expressing and responding to parasocial grief, that is, grief at the loss of a public figure. Additionally, given how the movies he starred in were easily viewable by audiences stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic and given his popularity on digital spaces like Black Twitter, this case offers insights into how media use can help people cope with parasocial grief. We conducted a mixed-methods survey study of audience responses Boseman's death. Quantitative results reveal that Black audiences had different rates of social sharing and movie viewing than non-Black audiences, with additional insights emerging from a thematic analysis of the open-ended data.

Mixed-methods Analysis of Adults Likely versus Unlikely to Get a COVID-19 Vaccination.

Objectives: This mixed-methods study compared perspectives of those 'very likely' versus 'very unlikely' to receive a hypothetical COVID-19 vaccine. Methods: We used an explanatory, sequential, mixed- methods design to analyze quantitative data from a rural Pennsylvania sample. Of the 976 participants, 67 selected 'very unlikely' to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Responses to open-ended questions: "What worries you the most about the COVID 19 pandemic?" and "What are your thoughts about a potential COVID 19 vaccine?" were qualitatively compared to answers from the 67 participants who selected 'very likely' to get the COVID-19 vaccine. We used descriptive content analysis to compare themes across the 2 groups. Results: Both groups had thematic commonalities related to their concerns. Themes that were more common among those 'very unlikely' to get vaccinated included concern for politics overriding vaccine safety and rushed vaccine development timeline, whereas themes related to hope and optimism about vaccination were exclusive to the 'very likely' group. Conclusions: Shared beliefs existed across groups with different intents to vaccinate; yet, identification with vaccine spokespersons differed. Messaging campaigns can use these commonalities to address vaccine hesitancy.

Essential and non-essential US workers' health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We seek to quantify the relationship between health behaviors and work-related experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic by predicting health behaviors as a function of essential worker status, job loss, change in work hours, and COVID-19 experiences. We use multivariate models and survey data from 913 employed adults in a semi-rural mid-Atlantic US county, and test whether essential worker results vary by gender, parenthood, and/or university employment. Multivariate models indicate that essential workers used tobacco on more days (4.5; p <.01) and were less likely to sleep 8 h (odds ratio [OR] 0.6; p <.01) than non-essential workers. The risk of sleeping less than 8 h is concentrated among essential workers in the service industry (OR 0.5; p <.05) and non-parents (OR 0.5; p <.05). Feminine essential workers exercised on fewer days (-0.8; p <.05) than feminine non-essential workers. Workers with reduced work hours consumed more alcoholic drinks (0.3; p <.05), while workers with increased work hours consumed alcohol (0.3; p <.05) and exercised (0.6; p <.05) on more days. Essential worker status and changes in work hours are correlated with unhealthy behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unique Predictors of Intended Uptake of a COVID-19 Vaccine in Adults Living in a Rural College Town in the United States.

PURPOSE: To explore public confidence in a COVID-19 vaccine. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: A rural college town in central Pennsylvania. SUBJECTS: Adult residents without minor children. MEASURES: The primary outcome was COVID-19 vaccination intention. Secondary measures included vaccination attitudes, norms, efficacy, past behavior, trust in the vaccination process, and sociodemographic variables of education, financial standing, political viewpoint, and religiosity. ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics were used to describe quantitative data. Multivariate ordinal regression was used to model predictors of vaccine intention. RESULTS: Of 950 respondents, 55% were "very likely" and 20% "somewhat likely" to take a coronavirus vaccine, even though 70% had taken the flu vaccine since September 2019. The strongest predictors of vaccine acceptance were trust in the system evaluating vaccines and perceptions of local COVID-19 vaccination norms. The strongest predictors of negative vaccine intentions were worries about unknown side-effects and positive attitudes toward natural infection. Sociodemographic factors, political views, and religiosity did not predict vaccine intentions. CONCLUSION: Fewer adults intend to take a coronavirus vaccine than currently take the flu vaccine. Traditional sociodemographic factors may not be effective predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Although based on a small sample, the study adds to our limited understanding of COVID-19-specific vaccine confidence among some rural Americans and suggests that traditional public health vaccination campaigns based on sociodemographic characteristics may not be effective.

Exploring Behavioral Typologies to Inform COVID-19 Health Campaigns: A Person-Centered Approach.

As the United States continues to be ravaged by COVID-19, it becomes increasingly important to implement effective public health campaigns to improve personal behaviors that help control the spread of the virus. To design effective campaigns, research is needed to understand the current mitigation intentions of the general public, diversity in those intentions, and theoretical predictors of them. COVID-19 campaigns will be particularly challenging because mitigation involves myriad, diverse behaviors. This study takes a person-centered approach to investigate data from a survey (N = 976) of Pennsylvania adults. Latent class analysis revealed five classes of mitigation: one marked by complete adherence with health recommendations (34% of the sample), one by complete refusal (9% of the sample), and three by a mixture of adherence and refusal. Statistically significant covariates of class membership included relatively positive injunctive norms, risk due to essential workers in the household, personal knowledge of someone who became infected with COVID-19, and belief that COVID-19 was a leaked biological weapon. Additionally, trait reactance was associated with non-adherence while health mavenism was associated with adherence. These findings may be used to good effect by local healthcare providers and institutions, and also inform broader policy-making decisions regarding public health campaigns to mitigate COVID-19.

Kindness Media Rapidly Inspires Viewers and Increases Happiness, Calm, Gratitude, and Generosity in a Healthcare Setting.

Background and Objectives: Stress is a ubiquitous aspect of modern life that affects both mental and physical health. Clinical care settings can be particularly stressful for both patients and providers. Kindness and compassion are buffers for the negative effects of stress, likely through strengthening positive interpersonal connection. In previous laboratory-based studies, simply watching kindness media uplifts (elevates) viewers, increases altruism, and promotes connection to others. The objective of the present study is to examine whether kindness media can affect viewers in a real-world, pediatric healthcare setting. Methods: Parents and staff in a pediatric dental clinic were studied. Study days were randomized for viewers to watch either original kindness media or the standard televised children's programming that the clinic shows. Participants scored self-rated pre-media emotions in a survey, watched either media type for 8 min, and then completed the survey. All participants were informed that they would receive a gift card for their participation. After completion of the survey, participants were asked if they wanted to keep the card or donate it to a family in need. Results: Fifty (50) participants completed the study; 28 were parents and 22 were staff. In comparison to viewers of children's programming, participants who watched kindness media had significant increases in feeling happy, calmer, more grateful, and less irritated (p < 0.05), with trends observed in feeling more optimistic and less anxious. Kindness media caused marked increases in viewers' reports of feeling inspired, moved, or touched (p < 0.001). No change was observed in self-reported compassion, although baseline levels were self-rated as very high. People who watched kindness media were also more generous, with 85% donating their honoraria compared to 54% of Standard viewers (p = 0.03). Conclusions: Kindness media can increase positive emotions and promote generosity in a healthcare setting.