Experimentally Manipulated Self-Affirmation Promotes Reduced Alcohol Consumption in Response to Narrative Information

Fox, Kerry; Harris, Peter R.; Jessop, Donna C.

doi:10.1007/s12160-017-9912-2

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(16 reference statements)

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“…Research considering alcohol use has shown self-affirmation to be effective at reducing drinking [14][15][16]. Thus, self-affirmation may be an effective tool to overcome students' resistance to changing their drinking behaviors by increasing their motivation to change.…”

Section: Self-affirmation and Health Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Self-Affirmation and Implementation Intentions: Effects on College Student Drinking

Ehret

Sherman

2018

Annals of Behavioral Medicine

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Background High levels of alcohol consumption are an enduring health risk among college students. Integrating multiple, complementary behavior change theories may offer a promising approach to promote reductions in alcohol consumption. Purpose The current study tested if integrating self-affirmation and implementation intentions would be more effective than a self-affirmation only, implementation intentions only, or control condition at reducing alcohol consumption in college students over a 2-week period. Method Two hundred and ninety-three college students who reported drinking in the past month were randomly assigned to a condition in a 2 (self-affirmation: values vs. control writing task) × 2 (implementation intentions: formed vs. not formed) between-subjects factorial design. Participants first completed a self-affirmation or control writing task, then read an article describing the risks of drinking. Next, all participants reported their common drinking behaviors and contexts, and then selected two harm-reduction strategies forming (or not forming) implementation intentions to use the strategies. Alcohol consumption was measured 1 and 2 weeks after the experiment. Results Participants in the integrated self-affirmation and implementation intention condition were most likely to abstain from drinking 1 week later. Affirmed participants continued to be more likely to abstain from drinking 2 weeks later. Conclusions The findings support the efficacy of integrating self-affirmation and implementation intentions to reduce college student drinking (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT02926794).

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Section: Self-affirmation and Health Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Self-Affirmation and Implementation Intentions: Effects on College Student Drinking

Ehret

Sherman

2018

Annals of Behavioral Medicine

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“…mTurk yields high quality data that is relatively representative compared to convenience or student samples, and participants may pay more attention to studies than do undergraduates (Bartneck et al, 2015;Buhrmester et al, 2011;Hauser & Schwartz, 2016;Gardner et al, 2012;Holden et al, 2013;Shapiro et al, 2013). Moreover, although there have been no comparisons of the effectiveness of self-affirmation in internet vs. laboratory studies, online experimental paradigms are often as effective as laboratory paradigms (e.g., Berinsky et al, 2012;Krantz & Dalal, 2000), and selfaffirmation paradigms have been administered successfully and shown to be effective in reducing defensiveness in internet research (e.g., Ferrer et al, 2017;Fox, Harris, & Jessop, 2017;Fielden et al, 2016;Harris et al, 2014;Jiang, 2017;Moeini-Jazani et al, 2019). Given that effects in Study 1 were smaller than predicted, more conservative power calculations were employed here.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greater benefit of self-affirmation for prevention-focused individuals prior to threatening health messages

Ferrer

Cerully

Harris

et al. 2020

Psychology & Health

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Objective: Individuals are often defensive toward health messages that suggest they are putting their health at risk because such messages threaten their self-competence and integrity. Although self-affirmation can facilitate prevention behaviors in response to health messages, effects are variable. We examined whether disease prevention focus might strengthen self-affirmation's effects in response to disease prevention messages, given that prevention-focused individuals are likeliest to be persuaded by those messages after self-affirmation attenuates defensiveness. Design:In Study 1, participants were self-affirmed before a message about sexually transmitted infections. In Studies 2 and 3, individuals were self-affirmed prior to a message about alcohol and cancer risk. Main Outcome Measures: Studies assessed intentions to use condoms, intentions to reduce alcohol, and willingness to drink alcohol in specific scenarios. Results: In Study 1, self-affirmation facilitated condom use intentions among those higher in prevention focus. In Studies 2-3, self-affirmation facilitated lower willingness to consume alcohol among those high in prevention focus. A meta-analysis across the three studies indicated that selfaffirmation improved intentions and willingness under high, but not low, prevention focus (d=0.20, p=.003). Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that health prevention-focus can strengthen self-affirmation's effects, thereby improving responsiveness to health communications about behaviors that increase disease risk.

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“…The self-affirmation can be used in interventions to enable individuals to accept health risk messages, which can subsequently motivate behavioural change (Epton, Harris, Kane, van Koningsbruggen, & Sheeran, 2015;Harris & Napper, 2005). For instance, selfaffirmed females who received persuasive health messages about health risks had stronger feelings of vulnerability (Klein, Harris, Ferrer, & Zajak, 2011), had stronger intentions to change (Harris, Mayle, Mabbot, & Napper, 2007), and were more likely to change their health behaviours (Epton & Harris, 2008;Fox, Harris, & Jessop, 2017) than a control group.…”

Section: Self-affirmation Theory: a Potential Intervention To Promote...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Narrative Review of Motivations for Dating App Use and Associated Sexual Behaviors: Recommendations to Promote Safe Sex among Indian Dating App Users

George,

Chittem,

Lewis-Smith

et al. 2021

Media Watch

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Experimentally Manipulated Self-Affirmation Promotes Reduced Alcohol Consumption in Response to Narrative Information

Abstract: The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT02681900, ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT02681900 ).

Cited by 9 publications

References 19 publications

Integrating Self-Affirmation and Implementation Intentions: Effects on College Student Drinking

Integrating Self-Affirmation and Implementation Intentions: Effects on College Student Drinking

Greater benefit of self-affirmation for prevention-focused individuals prior to threatening health messages

A Narrative Review of Motivations for Dating App Use and Associated Sexual Behaviors: Recommendations to Promote Safe Sex among Indian Dating App Users

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