Community Mental Health Providers' Beliefs About Addressing Weight Loss Among Youth Clients with Serious Emotional Disturbance and Overweight/Obesity: An Elicitation Study

Parent Intention to Enroll in an Online Intervention to Enhance Health Behavior Change among Youth Treated with Psychotropic Medication Who Are Overweight or Obese: An Elicitation Study

Youth who are prescribed psychotropic medication are disproportionally affected by overweight/obesity (OW/OB), yet few interventions have been tailored to their needs. To develop new interventions, it is important to address the needs, preferences, and intentions of target users. Qualitative methods within the theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework were used in this study to identify salient beliefs which may influence attitudes associated with parents’ intentions to participate in a future online intervention designed to develop behavioral health coaching skills among parents and guardians. Twenty parents and guardians of youth with OW/OB who were taking psychotropic medications, and were eligible for the study, were recruited through TurkPrime. Parents and guardians identified key salient beliefs consistent with the theory of planned behavior including behavioral beliefs (e.g., access and convenience), normative beliefs (e.g., family), and control beliefs (e.g., cost) that may influence their decision to enroll in a future, parent-oriented intervention. The results of this study suggest important salient beliefs which may be included in future research, as well as specific preferences which may be used to guide the development of a future intervention. Future work should focus on the creation of a salient belief quantitative measure and assess the relationships of these beliefs to attitudinal constructs and behaviors.

Examining community mental health providers' delivery of structured weight loss intervention to youth with serious emotional disturbance: An application of the theory of planned behaviour

Background

Rates of overweight and obesity are disproportionately high among youth with serious emotional disturbance (SED). Little is known about community mental health providers' delivery of weight loss interventions to this vulnerable population.

Objective

This study examined attitudinal predictors of their providers' intentions to deliver weight loss interventions to youth with SED using the theory of planned behaviour.

Design

This study used a cross‐sectional, single‐time‐point design to examine the relationship of the theory of planned behaviour constructs with behavioural intention.

Setting and Participants

Community mental health providers (n = 101) serving youth with SED in the United States completed online clinical practice and theory of planned behaviour surveys.

Main Variables Studied

We examined the relationship of direct attitude constructs (i.e., attitude towards the behaviour, social norms and perceived behavioural control), role beliefs and moral norms with behavioural intention. Analyses included a confirmatory factor analysis and two‐step linear regression.

Results

The structure of the model and the reliability of the questionnaire were supported. Direct attitude constructs, role beliefs and moral norms predicted behavioural intention to deliver weight loss interventions.

Discussion

While there is debate about the usefulness of the theory of planned behaviour, our results showed that traditional and newer attitudinal constructs appear to influence provider intentions to deliver weight loss interventions to youth with SED. Findings suggest preliminary strategies to increase provider intentions.

Public Contribution

This study was designed and the results were interpreted as part of a larger, community‐based participatory research effort that included input from youth, families, providers, administrators and researchers. Collaborative discussions with community mental health providers and administrators particularly contributed to the study question asked as well as interpretation of results.