What difference does a frame make? Potential moderators of framing effects and the role of self-efficacy

Contains fulltext : 134952.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Health-promoting communications usually stress the value of healthy behaviour, but they can do this in many ways. In particular, the message can be framed in terms of the benefits of performing the behaviour (gain frame – e.g., ´quitting smoking is healthy´) or in terms of the costs of failing to perform the behaviour (loss frame – e.g., ´continuing to smoke is unhealthy´). Unfortunately, studies show inconsistent results with regard to which type of framing is more persuasive. The results of several studies have suggested that gain-framed information is more persuasive than loss-framed information, the results of other studies have suggested that loss-framed information is more persuasive and some studies have reported no differential effects (for meta-analyses see O'Keefe & Jensen, 2006; 2007). To account for these inconsistent findings, many researchers have been concerned with identifying possible moderating variables of message framing effects.4 p

The value of indirect measures for assessing food preferences in abnormal eating

Indirect measures have been used for the assessment of food preferences. These measures are indirect in the sense that the researcher does not ask a participant directly for his food preference, but derives his preference from a behavior. Typically, the affective priming paradigm and the implicit association test have been used. The relevant processes in these paradigms are relatively automatic. One of the advantages of these paradigms is that responses are less likely to be influenced by socially desirable response tendencies and do not rely on the participant’s introspection. This paper provides an overview of research about relatively automatic associations with food in general and specifically for anorexia nervosa patients, dieters, and obese people. Multiple studies suggest that these paradigms can uncover food likes and dislikes. In most studies, no differences in food preferences were found between obese and lean people, or between restrained and unrestrained eaters. Possibly there simply are no group differences in automatic food associations. Alternatively, the employed indirect measures are not sensitive enough to detect truly existent differences. Interestingly, it was found that anorexia nervosa patients displayed a reduced sensitivity to the palatability of foods. Another interesting finding is that the presence of an immediate food related context influenced the automatic food associations. For now, the use of indirect measures in explaining differences between obese and lean people, and restrained and unrestrained eaters, does not seem a very viable approach. It might be for a clinical disorder such as anorexia nervosa

Overweight and obesity: the significance of a depressed mood

Objective: Comorbid depression has been found to increase morbidity in a variety of disorders. This study aimed to investigate whether the presence of depressive symptoms in overweight and obese people is related to increased specific eating psychopathology and decreased self-esteem. Methods: Overweight/obese people seeking dietary treatment were grouped according to their scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), resulting in a mildly to moderately depressed group (BDI >= 10; n = 66; the symptomatic group) and a non-depressed group (BDI <10; n = 83). Eating psychopathology was measured by the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q); self-esteem was measured by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results: Symptomatic people had more shape, weight and eating concerns (P-values <0.001); scored higher on restraint (P <0.01); had lower self-esteem (P <0.001); and had a higher BMI (P <0.05) than non-depressed people. Furthermore, the percentage of bingers was higher in the symptomatic group (P <0.01). Conclusion: Symptomatic participants suffered more than non-depressed participants, and not only from their depression. Practice implications: For dieticians treating overweight and obese people, the BDI is a useful instrument for identifying the subgroup with depressive symptoms-the group that is at risk for (eating) psychopathology

Formal Handling Routines in Jamaican Infants; Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviour.

This study aimed to determine the frequency of use and the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour regarding the Formal Handling Routines (FHR) in rural and urban Jamaican infants, Analysis was made of the area of residence and educational level of the caregivers. The study included 194 caregivers, thirty-three community rehabilitation workers (CRWs) and 30 health care workers (HCWs). Depending on the level of understanding of the respondents, questionnaires were either self-administered or a personal interview was conducted. Caregivers with tertiary education differed significantly from the other caregivers both in frequency of use of the FHR and knowledge, attitudes and behaviour: Caregivers with tertiary education used the routine much less and had more negative attitudes towards it. This might be due to their better financial position, which allowed them to have helpers who cared for their children. HCWs also had significantly, more negative beliefs about the FHR than CRWs and caregivers. It is possible that HCWs carried over their knowledge attitudes and behaviour to the caregivers but if they did, it did not influence the majority of caregivers