Struggling with the Freshman Fifteen: College Students’ Recollections of Parents’ Memorable Messages about Weight

Considering the college years are considered a critical time in one’s life for changes in diet and exercise behavior and an increase in weight gain, this study explored the significant and impactful communication between college students and their parents during this transitional period. Using open-ended responses to an online questionnaire (N = 222), we explored the Memorable Messages (Knapp, Stohl, & Reardon, 1981) college students recall receiving from their parents about overweight and obesity. Students’ responses demonstrate that not only is weight a difficult topic to talk about, but it is also a difficult issue for people to manage on an individual basis. Students gave examples of messages and conversations referencing their own and their parents’ struggles with weight, and their responses illustrate the complex nature (i.e., emotions, interpretations of compliments versus criticism) of these important communication episodes

Exploring Psychosocial Support Online: A Content Analysis of Messages in an Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Community

The increased usage of online cancer support groups as a resource for health-related information and social support has sparked numerous discussions about the role of online support in healthcare. However, little is known about the role of social-networking groups focused on supporting adolescents and young adults (AYAs) dealing with cancer. The current investigation report findings from a content analysis designed to explore how AYAs use an online support group to meet their psychosocial needs. Overall, members of the community focused on exchanging emotional and informational support, coping with difficult emotions through expression, describing experiences of being an AYA dealing with cancer through language (metaphors), enacting identity through evaluations of the new normal (life with and after cancer), and communicating membership as an AYA with cancer. This study highlights the unique needs of the AYA cancer community and offers a preliminary roadmap for practitioners, and network members, such as family and friends, to attempt to meet the needs of this unique community.Advertisin