Health-promotion interventions targeting multiple behaviors: A meta-analytic review of general and behavior-specific processes of change.

Although health-promotion interventions that recommend changes across multiple behavioral domains are a newer alternative to single-behavior interventions, their general efficacy and their mechanisms of change have not been fully ascertained. This comprehensive meta-analysis (6,878 effect sizes from 803 independent samples from 364 research reports, N = 186,729 participants) examined the association between the number of behavioral recommendations in multiple-behavior interventions and behavioral and clinical change across eight domains (i.e., diet, smoking, exercise, HIV [Human Immunodeficiency Virus] prevention, HIV testing, HIV treatment, alcohol use, and substance use). Results showed a positive, linear effect of the number of behavioral recommendations associated with behavioral and clinical change across all domains, although approximately 87% of the samples included between 0 and 4 behavioral recommendations. This linear relation was mediated by improvements in the psychological well-being of intervention recipients and, in several domains (i.e., HIV, alcohol use, and drug use), suggested behavioral cuing. However, changes in information, motivation, and behavioral skills did not mediate the impact of the number of recommendations on behavioral and clinical change. The implications of these findings for theory and future intervention design are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining the Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Nostalgia Appeals: A Comparative Experiment of Nostalgia and Regret.

Obesity rates remain high among U.S. adults, especially rural residents. Research has shown that nostalgia appeals effectively promote several healthy behaviors. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying nostalgia appeals remain unclear. This study examined the effects of nostalgia appeals on intention to increase exercise and shed light on how nostalgia affected persuasive outcomes. We anticipated that nostalgia appeals would persuade people by enhancing self-esteem and reducing anger and counterarguing. To illuminate the mechanisms underlying the effects of nostalgia, a between-subject experiment (nostalgia appeal vs. regret appeal vs. irrelevant message vs. neutral persuasive message) was conducted among overweight or obese rural Michiganders (N = 507). Results showed that relative to the regret appeal, the nostalgia appeal led to higher state self-esteem, less anger, and less counterarguing. There was no significant difference in attitude or behavioral intention between the nostalgia appeal, regret appeal, and neutral persuasive message. We demonstrated that enhancing self-esteem was the key mechanism by which the nostalgia appeal persuaded the target audience.

The impact of multiple-behavior HIV interventions as a function of regional disadvantages: An analysis of syndemics.

OBJECTIVE: Disadvantaged populations, including inhabitants of developing countries as well as racial/ethnic and sexual minorities in the United States, are disproportionally burdened by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, delayed HIV diagnosis, and unfavorable HIV-treatment outcomes. HIV interventions targeting single behaviors (e.g., testing) in these populations have shown to be efficacious at producing behavioral and clinical change but have been unable to eliminate the social health disparities associated with syndemics (i.e., a set of connected risks, interacting synergistically, and contributing to excess burden of disease in a population). METHOD: This meta-analysis of 331 reports (clusters; number of effect sizes [k] = 1,364) assessed whether multiple-behavior interventions that target clusters of syndemic risks are more efficacious for those in disadvantaged regions and social groups. RESULTS: Across the board, multiple-behavior interventions were more efficacious than single-behavior ones as well as passive control groups among samples from countries with lower log gross domestic product (GDP), lower Human Development Index (HDI), and lower Healthcare Access and Quality (HAQ) Index. CONCLUSIONS: Within the United States, the efficacy of multiple-behavior interventions was similar across different levels of representation of racial/ethnic and sexual minorities. The analyses used robust variance estimation with small-sample corrections to assess the differential effects of multiple-behavior interventions and Egger Sandwich test with the multilevel meta-analysis approach to detect selection biases. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The effects of moral norms and anticipated guilt on COVID19 prevention behaviors.

Studies have shown that older adolescents have a low perceived personal risk of COVID-19, and yet their ability and willingness to engage in COVID-19 prevention behaviors is imperative for community health. Thus, health communication scholars need to consider alternative psycho-social predictors of prevention behaviors that will assist in protecting others in a pandemic. Based on Schwartz's Norms Activation Model (NAM; Schwartz, 1977), we examined the relationship between moral norms and COVID-19 prevention behaviors (mask wearing and physical distancing). We predicted that anticipated guilt would mediate the relationship between moral norms and intention to engage in prevention behaviors, and that collective orientation would strengthen the association between moral norms and anticipated guilt. We tested predictions with data from a cross-sectional survey with a probability-based sample of college students at a large land grant university. These data indicated that moral norms were associated with behavioral intention, and this relationship was mediated by anticipated guilt. Collective orientation was found to moderate the relationship between moral norms and anticipated guilt in the context of physical distancing but not mask wearing. These findings suggest that making moral norms salient when designing an intervention is an effective strategy for older adolescents. Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04477-5.