Reasoned versus reactive prediction of behaviour: a meta-analysis of the prototype willingness model

Am I a responsible drinker? The impact of message frame and drinker prototypes on perceptions of alcohol product information labels

BACKGROUND

Current alcohol product labelling tends to include ambiguous messages such as 'drink responsibly'. Consumers who identify as responsible drinkers may not pay heed to health warning messages, believing that they are not the intended target.

AIMS

We aimed to determine how responses to responsible drinking labels would differ from responses to positively and negatively framed health messages. We also explored if prototype perceptions would moderate the message impact.

METHODS

A between groups, three arm (ambiguous, positive or negative messages) experiment recruited 465 participants. Outcomes were drinking intentions and label acceptability (novelty, believability, personal relevance, and potential to change behaviour). Measures of heavy and responsible drinker prototype perceptions were included for exploratory moderation analyses.

RESULTS

Positive and negative messages were rated significantly more likely to change behaviour than ambiguous messages. There was also a moderation effect: participants with stronger favourability and similarity to the responsible drinker prototype intended to drink more alcohol in the future after exposure to negatively framed labels, but not after exposure to ambiguous or positively framed labels.

DISCUSSION

Drink responsibly' messages are unlikely to lead to behaviour change. Incorporating theoretical moderators may have value in developing our understanding of the impact of alcohol product labelling.

A daily-level examination of willingness to pregame, blackout, and hook up across drinking days: Associations with respective behavioral outcomes among adolescents and young adults

Research indicates general willingness to drink (i.e., "How willing are you to drink tonight?") fluctuates day-to-day and is associated with daily-level drinking. However, it is unknown whether willingness to engage in specific alcohol-related behaviors is associated with actual engagement in those behaviors above and beyond general willingness to drink at the daily level. The present study examined whether daily-level willingness to engage in specific behaviors (i.e., pre-gaming, blacking out, hooking up) predicted engaging in those respective behaviors on drinking days above and beyond one's general willingness to drink. Participants included adolescents and young adults who were part of a longitudinal ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study on cognitions and alcohol use. Participants (N = 675; 43 % male) who reported drinking on weekend days (i.e., Friday and Saturday [N = 3,727 days]), were included. The study involved a 3-week EMA burst design with bursts occurring quarterly over 12 months. Multilevel logistic regressions indicated on drinking days when participants reported being more willing than their own average to pre-game (OR = 1.77, p <.001), black out (OR = 1.46, p <.05), or drink before hooking up (OR = 1.68, p <.001), they were more likely to pregame, black out, and hook up, respectively, whereas general willingness to drink was not associated with any outcomes at the daily level.Results suggest willingness to engage in specific behaviors may be essential to target in prevention programming in comparison to general willingness to drink when aiming to reduce specific risk behaviors.

Australians' willingness to change their discretionary food intake: findings from the CSIRO junk food analyser

Introduction

Overconsumption of energy dense, nutrient poor foods and beverages is a major problem globally. This study describes what and how Australian adults consume and are willing to change their intake in terms of discretionary food and beverage categories.

Methods

Cross-sectional data were collected via the CSIRO Junk Food Analyser. This online tool contains short questions on discretionary food and beverage consumption, and items relating to stage of and willingness and strategies to reduce discretionary food and beverage intake. Analyses focussed on describing discretionary intake, adherence to guidelines and the prediction of willingness to change discretionary food intake amongst those exceeding guidelines.

Results

In 2021, 41,109 Australian adults completed the CSIRO Junk Food Analyser. Participants were mostly female (73.1%) and aged 31-70 years (78.9%). Most participants exceeded dietary guidelines for discretionary food and beverage intake (67.4%, 27,694/41,109) with 40% reporting actively trying to reduce intake. Most people exceeding guidelines did so in categories of alcohol (39.3%) and cakes and biscuits (21.0%). Yet, willingness to change intake was lowest for alcohol (median, IQR of 3, 2:4 out of 5). Almost half of the participants were willing to try 'having a few days off per week' (46.0%), while only 13.4% were willing to try to 'eliminate' their highest ranked category.

Discussion

Australian adults are willing to reduce their discretionary food and beverage intake, but simply targeting the foods and beverages consumed most may not be the best place to start. Messages encouraging days off frequently consumed discretionary foods and beverages may be well received.

Unpacking public resistance to health Chatbots: a parallel mediation analysis

Introduction

Despite the numerous potential benefits of health chatbots for personal health management, a substantial proportion of people oppose the use of such software applications. Building on the innovation resistance theory (IRT) and the prototype willingness model (PWM), this study investigated the functional barriers, psychological barriers, and negative prototype perception antecedents of individuals' resistance to health chatbots, as well as the rational and irrational psychological mechanisms underlying their linkages.

Methods

Data from 398 participants were used to construct a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM).

Results

Resistance intention mediated the relationship between functional barriers, psychological barriers, and resistance behavioral tendency, respectively. Furthermore, The relationship between negative prototype perceptions and resistance behavioral tendency was mediated by resistance intention and resistance willingness. Moreover, negative prototype perceptions were a more effective predictor of resistance behavioral tendency through resistance willingness than functional and psychological barriers.

Discussion

By investigating the role of irrational factors in health chatbot resistance, this study expands the scope of the IRT to explain the psychological mechanisms underlying individuals' resistance to health chatbots. Interventions to address people's resistance to health chatbots are discussed.

Ethnic and Gender Differences in Sun-Related Cognitions Among College Students: Implications for Intervention

BACKGROUND

Skin cancer incidence and prognosis vary by ethnicity and gender, and previous studies demonstrate ethnic and gender differences in sun-related cognitions and behaviors that contribute to this disease. The current study sought to inform skin cancer interventions tailored to specific demographic groups of college students. The study applied the prototype willingness model (PWM) to examine how unique combinations of ethnic and gender identities influence sun-related cognitions.

METHOD

Using data from a survey of 262 college students, the study tested whether self-reported sun-related cognitions were different for White women, Hispanic women, White men, and Hispanic men. Path modeling was also used to identify which PWM cognitions (e.g., prototypes, norms) were the strongest predictors of risk and protection intentions and willingness in each demographic group.

RESULTS

Several differences in sun-related cognitions and PWM pathways emerged across groups, emphasizing the need for tailored skin cancer education and interventions. Results suggest that, for White women, interventions should primarily focus on creating less favorable attitudes toward being tan.

CONCLUSION

Interventions for Hispanic women may instead benefit from manipulating perceived similarity to sun-related prototypes, encouraging closer personal identification with images of women who protect their skin and encouraging less identification with images of women who tan. For White men, skin cancer interventions may focus on creating more favorable images of men who protect their skin from the sun. Lastly, interventions for Hispanic men should increase perceived vulnerability for skin cancer.

How Does Being under the Influence Affect Willingness to Experience Overlapping Effects of Alcohol and Marijuana?

OBJECTIVE

This study tested how individuals anticipate they will respond to opportunities to engage in simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use.

METHODS

Two studies utilizing a within-subjects design were conducted. Study 1 was conducted in Spring 2021 and a replication (Study 2) was conducted in Fall 2021. Participants were presented with pairs of scenarios. One scenario pair compared how willing participants expected to be to get drunk if they were sober vs. high. Another pair compared how willing participants would be to take a hit of marijuana if they were sober vs. drunk. College attending young adults (Study 1: N = 173; female = 81%; Study 2: N = 212; female = 49.1%) with varying degrees of substance use experience were recruited.

RESULTS

In Study 1 participants reported greater willingness to get drunk when sober than when high. This was qualified by a statistically significant interaction whereby differences were greater among those who had more experience with past 30-day heavy drinking. Similar findings emerged for willingness to use marijuana. Participants anticipated greater willingness to use marijuana when sober than when drunk. This was also qualified by a statistically significant interaction whereby differences were greater among experimental or established users of marijuana than among abstainers. Study 2 findings replicated those from Study 1.

CONCLUSIONS

College attending young adults state greater willingness to remain under the influence of one substance than to engage in SAM use when opportunities arise. Simultaneous use of alcohol and marijuana among college students is likely an exception, not the rule. Implications for prevention are discussed.

Mobile phone use while cycling among e-bikers in China: Reasoned or social reactive?

INTRODUCTION

China has the largest number of e-bikers in the world, and e-bike crashes cause thousands of fatalities and tens of thousands of serious injuries annually. Mobile phone use while e-biking is a violation of Chinese law and associated with increased crash risk. The current study investigated mobile phone use behavior while cycling among Chinese e-bikers and the psychological factors surrounding why individuals might choose to engage in this risk-taking behavior.

METHOD

In particular, this study investigates whether the decision to use a mobile phone while cycling is explained through reasoned decision making or is a social reactive decision, or both, as defined by the prototype willingness model (PWM). Questionnaire data were collected from 784 Chinese adults with e-bike experience.

RESULTS

Results showed that 40.2 % of the participants reported mobile phone use while cycling e-bikes in the past month. Both behavioral intention and behavioral willingness were predictors of mobile phone while using e-bikes, and they were approximately equal in their magnitude of predictive power (β_BI = 0.25; β_BW = 0.26). E-bikers' attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and perception of prototype similarity and favorability were strong predictors of intention, willingness, and self-reported behavior to use mobile phones while e-biking.

CONCLUSIONS

Both social reactive decision-making and reasoned decision-making contribute to decisions to use a mobile phone while riding an e-bike.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Results have implications for guiding development of interventions to prevent and reduce mobile phone use when e-bike cycling.

Intention to Engage in Alcohol Use during Pregnancy: The Role of Attitudes and Prototypes

Background: There is no known risk-free level of alcohol use in pregnancy. Despite this, many still believe that occasional drinking is safe. To-date, there is limited evidence of the influences on women's decisions about low to moderate alcohol use in pregnancy. The aim of this study was to explore alcohol use intentions during pregnancy, using variables from the theory of planned behavior, the prototype/willingness model and personality variables. The study also investigated whether priming participants with exposure to prototypes describing different alcohol use behaviors had an impact on intentions.Methods: Participants, 746 women aged 20 to 45 years, were randomized to be prompted to think of one of two different "types" of behaviors, i.e., small level of alcohol use in pregnancy and ambiguous level of alcohol use in pregnancy. They then completed measures of theoretical variables, impulsivity, venturesomeness, and self-efficacy. Participants then answered whether they intended to use alcohol during a future pregnancy.Results: Over half of the variance in intentions to consume alcohol while pregnant were predicted by the final model (R2= .527, F (1, 438) = 13.201, p < .001). Positive attitudes toward alcohol use in pregnancy, from the theory of planned behavior, were the most significant predictor of intentions and intentions did not differ between groups according to prototype exposure.Conclusions: Future research should aim to explore the efficacy of interventions to reduce low to moderate alcohol use in pregnancy that utilize both the theory of planned behavior and prototype/willingness model to target determinants of intentions.

A theory based examination of factors associated with male body hair removal

Male body hair removal has implications for men's mental health such as anxiety about body image. Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and relevant additional constructs, this research examined factors associated with young men's upper body and pubic hair removal. Young men residing in Australia completed a pilot survey, online survey (N = 655) of predictors of intention (plans) to remove body hair and a 4-week follow up survey (n = 222) reporting body hair removal behaviour. Attitudes about body hair removal, pressure from others, perceptions of control and similarity to prototypical young men who removed body hair were associated with intention for upper body (60%) and pubic (48%) hair removal. Intention was significantly associated with body hair removal behaviours. These findings indicate social pressure was associated with young men's decisions to remove body hair, pointing to sources of potential intervention.

The prototype willingness model: An application to adolescent driver speeding

INTRODUCTION

Many young drivers are involved in crashes due to speeding. Some studies have used the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) to explain the risky driving behavior of young people. However, many have measured PWM constructs in a manner inconsistent with its formulation. The PWM asserts that the social reaction pathway is underpinned by a heuristic comparison of oneself with a cognitive prototype of someone who engages in a risky behavior. This proposition has not been comprehensively examined and few PWM studies specifically examine social comparison. The current study investigates intentions, expectations, and willingness to speed by teen drivers using operationalizations of PWM constructs more aligned with their original conceptualizations. Additionally, the influence of dispositional social comparison tendency on the social reaction pathway is examined to further test the original propositions underpinning the PWM.

METHOD

Two hundred and eleven independently driving adolescents completed an online survey including items measuring PWM constructs and social comparison tendency. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to investigate the influence of perceived vulnerability, descriptive and injunctive norms, and prototypes on speeding intentions, expectations, and willingness. A moderation analysis examined the effect of social comparison tendency on the association between prototype perceptions and willingness.

RESULTS

The regression models explained substantial amounts of variance in intentions (39%), expectations (49%), and willingness (30%) to speed. There was no evidence that social comparison tendency influences the relationship between prototypes and willingness.

CONCLUSIONS

The PWM is useful for predicting teenage risky driving. More studies should confirm that social comparison tendency does not moderate the social reaction pathway. However, there may be need for further theoretical development of the PWM.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

The study suggests that it may be possible to develop interventions to reduce adolescent driver speeding based on manipulation of PWM constructs such as speeding driver prototypes.

Intention to maintain and willingness to stop: Applying a dual-process model to understanding the maintenance of COVID-19 preventive behaviors

Preventive behaviors have played an essential role in coping with COVID-19 and may continue to exerting a crucial impact on pandemic control in the future. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of social-cognitive factors on maintenance of COVID-19 preventive behaviors based on a dual-process model, which encompasses a reasoned path via the intention to maintain and a social reaction path via the willingness to stop. We collected a probability sample of 472 community-dwelling adults. Social-cognitive factors, behavioral tendencies, and preventive behaviors of COVID-19 were measured. The results supported that the dual-process framework could account for individual differences in preventive behaviors. Self-efficacy and response cost significantly explained the intention to maintain preventive behaviors, while favorability of risk image and subjective norm significantly explained the willingness to stop preventive behaviors. Our findings proposed strategies for promoting individuals' maintenance of preventive behaviors during a pandemic. The development of prevention policies may focus on two paths: strengthening the intended path by enhancing self-efficacy and decreasing response cost of preventive behaviors and monitoring and improving social influences, such as risk prototype and subjective norm, which can reduce the willingness to stop preventive behaviors.

Efficacy of theory-based interventions aimed at reducing binge drinking in adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Binge drinking is a widespread practice among adolescents worldwide and is associated with various harmful consequences. Theory-based interventions are a promising approach to prevent this drinking behaviour in this population. The aim of the present review was to determine: (1) the characteristics of theory-based interventions targeting binge drinking in adolescents, (2) the impact of such interventions on binge drinking, and (3) the quality of theoretical implementation.

METHODS

For this systematic review, randomised controlled trials were eligible for inclusion if the binge drinking-targeting intervention was based at least on one theoretical framework, and if the population's mean age was between 10 and 18 years. Two authors extracted relevant data. A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effect of interventions on binge drinking. Effect sizes were calculated with the Hedges's g. Binge drinking was measured as a continuous or dichotomous outcome. The quality of theoretical implementation of interventions was measured using an existing "theory coding scheme".

RESULTS

Sixteen studies were identified. Ten were based on a single theory, and six on a combination of theories. The number and type of behaviour change techniques used in each intervention varied greatly. Theory-based interventions led to a small but significant decrease in binge drinking (Hedges's g = 0.10; 95% confidence interval = 0.04, 0.16). The quality of theoretical implementation was globally low, and the reciprocal link between behaviour change techniques and theoretical constructs was unclear for most studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Theory-based interventions have a small but significant beneficial impact on decreasing binge drinking in adolescents. Future research should try to be more effective in matching theoretical determinants of behaviour with the content of the intervention.

Willingness and intention to run a red light among motorcyclists

INTRODUCTION

An important issue affecting the safety of riders is running a red light. Many factors can affect this risky behavior including demographic, safety, and meteorological factors.

METHOD

Using two models, the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study examines this behavior. In this study, 853 participants completed an online questionnaire.

RESULTS

The results indicated that older people and those who were married ran the red light less frequently compared with other riders. Additionally, people who rode motorcycles for more hours in a day had greater intentions and willingness to run the red light. People who had prior risky experiences while riding in the past reported running red lights more frequently. When comparing the two models, the PWM predicted a greater level of variance in the red-light running behavior when compared with the TPB. Among the components of the TPB model, the attitude factor was the strongest predictor. Prototype similarity was the strongest predictor of red-light running among the components of the PWM. Finally, it was observed that using a road safety educational (RSE) solution can effectively reduce the rate of red light traffic running among motorcyclists.

Using social cognition models to understand why people, such as perfectionists, struggle to respond with self-compassion

Responding with self-compassion to lapses in goal pursuit helps people to achieve their goals, yet evidence suggests that some people struggle to respond with self-compassion. The current research proposes that social cognition models such the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Prototype Willingness Model could explain why some people, such as those high in perfectionistic concerns, struggle to respond with self-compassion. We therefore conducted a pre-registered prospective study that measured participants' beliefs about self-compassion, difficulties enacting self-compassionate responding, perfectionistic concerns, and then tested their ability to be self-compassionate in response to a recalled and future lapse. The results showed that participants were less likely to respond with self-compassion to lapses if they held negative beliefs about self-compassion and experienced difficulties enacting self-compassion. Participants high in perfectionistic concerns were more likely to have negative beliefs about self-compassion and experience difficulties enacting self-compassion. Together, these findings provide evidence that social cognition models can be used to understand self-compassionate responding and identify why some people struggle to respond with self-compassion to goal lapses.

Bystander intervention among secondary school pupils: Testing an augmented Prototype Willingness Model

This study augmented the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) to assess reactive and deliberative decision-making underpinning bystander intervention in gender-based violence contexts. There were 2079 participants (50% male, 49% female, and 1% unreported), aged 11-15 years old (M = 12.32, SD = 0.91), attending 19 secondary schools across Scotland. Participants self-reported the augmented PWM variables, then their intervention behaviour approximately 1 month later. Path analyses mostly supported the predicted relationships between positive and negative bidimensional attitudes, subjective norms, prototype perceptions, perceived behavioural control, and self-efficacy on intentions and willingness. Willingness predicted positive (speaking with a teacher) and negative (doing nothing) intervention in less serious violence. Self-efficacy predicted negative intervention in more serious violence. Subjective norms positively moderated the attitudes-intentions relationship. Overall, the results suggested that reactive (willingness) more so than deliberative (intention) decision-making account for intervention when young people witness gender-based violence. Additionally, the findings highlight the complexity of bystander intervention decision-making, where adding control perceptions, bidimensional attitudes, and moderators have independent contributions. Furthermore, self-comparison to the typical bystander who positively intervenes (prototype perceptions) was the strongest predictor of intentions and willingness, highlighting in a novel way the importance of image and group membership on decision-making.

Social-contextual factors interact with masculinity to influence college men's HPV vaccination intentions: The role of descriptive norms, prototypes, and physician gender

Men’s low HPV vaccination uptake and HPV-related disease incidence are public health issues; gendered social–contextual factors likely play a role. In Study 1, college men (N = 130; M_age = 19.55; white = 58.1%) reported their social cognitions (male-referent descriptive norms and prototypes), self-reliance masculinity ideology, and vaccination intentions. In Study 2, college men (N = 106; M_age = 19.32; white = 61.3%) were randomly assigned to receive HPV vaccination information from a man or woman physician-avatar. Descriptive norms and favorable prototypes (bs ≥ .337; ps ≤ .016) were associated with higher HPV vaccination intentions. Men with higher self-reliance masculinity had higher HPV vaccination intentions with a man physician and when they perceived greater vaccination among men (ps ≤ .035). Men with higher self-reliance masculinity are more sensitive to gendered social–contextual effects in HPV vaccination decision-making. Gendered social–contextual factors should be integrated into public health interventions to increase college men’s HPV vaccination uptake.

The importance of prototype similarity for physical activity: Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations in a large sample of young adolescents

OBJECTIVES

Physical activity declines during adolescence. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is a useful framework for investigating activity but leaves variance unexplained. We explored the utility of a dual-process approach using the TPB and the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) to investigate correlates of physical activity, and 1-year change in physical activity, among a large sample of adolescents.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of baseline and follow-up data from the Fit to Study cluster-randomized trial.

METHODS

A total of 9,699 secondary school pupils at baseline and 4,632 at follow-up (mean age = 12.5 years) completed measures of past week physical activity and constructs from both behaviour-change models, at time-points 1 year apart. Cross-sectional analyses used multilevel, stepwise regression models to measure the strength of associations between model constructs and physical activity, and variance in behaviour explained by PWM over and above TPB. In longitudinal analyses, change scores were calculated by subtracting follow-up from baseline scores. Models controlling for trial treatment status measured the strength of associations between change scores, and variance explained.

RESULTS

At baseline, after controlling for past behaviour, physically active prototype similarity had the strongest relationship with activity after the intention to be active. Change in prototype similarity had the strongest relationship with change in activity after the change in intention and attitudes. Prototype perceptions and willingness explained additional variance in behaviour.

CONCLUSION

A dual-process model incorporating prototype perceptions could more usefully predict physical activity than models based on rational expectations alone. Behaviour-change interventions promoting an active self-image could be tested for effects on physical activity.

Can substance abuse media literacy increase prediction of drug use in students?

Objective

The present study aimed to determine the predictors of drug use among students based on the Extended Prototype willingness model (EPWM).

Methods

This cross-sectional study was performed at Hamadan universities. The participants were selected via multi-stage sampling. Finally, out of 721 students participated. The questionnaire consisted of four sections: (a) socio-demographic characteristics, (b) Questionnaire about the prototype willingness model constructs, (c) Questionnaire about the status of drug use behavior, (d) Substance Abuse Media Literacy (SAML) scale. Data were analyzed using a structural equations partial least squares confirmatory composite approach and SPSS-23.

Results

The mean age of students was of 23.47 ± 4.14 years. Based on results, behavioral willingness (β = 0.420, t-value = 9.010, p < 0.001) and behavioral intention (β = 0.291, t-value = 6.957, p < 0.001) significantly predicted drug use. The presented results of analysis, 66% of the variance of the drug use, 62% of the variable of the behavioral willingness, and 56% of the behavioral intention could be explained by the EPWM.

Conclusion

The present study demonstrated that EPWM could predict drug use in students. Therefore, designing and implementing educational and promotional intervention programs to reduce behavioral willingness and increase students’ skills in substance abuse media literacy is necessary to prevent drug use behavior.

Reach, Receptivity, And Beliefs Associated With the Fresh Empire Campaign to Prevent and Reduce Cigarette Use Among Youth in the United States

PURPOSE

To determine the association between exposure to FDA's Fresh Empire tobacco public education campaign and tobacco-related beliefs.

DESIGN

Repeated cross-sectional data collection design with embedded longitudinal cohort over six data collection waves.

SETTING

30 US evaluation markets.

SAMPLE

Hip Hop peer crowd-identified US youth aged 12-18 (N = 5,378).

MEASURES

Self-reported brand and video ad awareness (saw any ad at least sometimes) and perceived effectiveness (1-5 scale) to describe campaign awareness and receptivity. Exogenous exposure was measured using population-adjusted broadcast and digital video impressions. Tobacco-related beliefs included beliefs about smoking risks, attitudes towards tobacco-free people and lifestyles, and normative beliefs about smoking.

ANALYSIS

Descriptive analyses of awareness, receptivity, and agreement with tobacco-related beliefs. Logistic regression models to determine the relationship between broadcast and digital video impressions and beliefs.

INTERVENTION

Fresh Empire campaign.

RESULTS

The campaign generated a high level of reach (71% brand and 66% video ad awareness at final wave) and messages were well-received (across waves 3.5-4.1 mean perceived effectiveness scores). Higher broadcast television exposure was associated with increased agreement with five beliefs related to addiction/control, being a bad influence on family/friends, and cosmetic effects of smoking (breath and attractiveness) (ORs = 1.16-1.27, (Ps < .05)).

CONCLUSION

Fresh Empire successfully reached and resonated with Hip Hop-identified youth. The campaign was associated with a limited number of targeted beliefs.

The effect of habit on preventive behaviors: a two-wave longitudinal study to predict COVID-19 preventive behaviors

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic is a continuing global threat. This study examined the effect of habit on the motivational aspects of COVID-19 preventive behaviors using a dual-motivation model, which hypothesizes that intentional and reactive motivations determine behavior. This study assumes that habit influences behaviors through the antecedents of the model and the interaction effects of intentional motivation × habit and reactive motivation × habit.

Design: This study conducted a longitudinal survey of 300 Japanese participants to predict preventive behaviors two weeks after the first survey. Moreover, it measured past and future COVID-19 self-reported preventive behaviors, attitudes, behavioral intentions, behavioral willingness, subjective and descriptive norms, self-efficacy, behavioral controls, and habits.

Results: The results showed the interaction effects of behavioral intention × habit and behavioral willingness × habit on preventive behaviors in addition to the effect of past behavior. The stronger the effect of habit, the stronger is the effect of behavioral intention and the weaker the effect of behavioral willingness.

Conclusion: The habituation of preventive behaviors strengthens the behavioral intention–behavior consistency. This study suggested that habit is an important factor for overcoming psychological barriers and for establishing preventive behaviors in daily life.

A qualitative examination of intentions and willingness for heavy drinking among young adult high-intensity drinkers

OBJECTIVE

Heavy episodic drinking (HED) and high-intensity drinking (HID) are common in young adulthood but pose unique risks. Quantitative studies have used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Prototype-Willingness Model (PWM) to understand decision-making processes underlying alcohol misuse. However, our understanding of intentions (plans) and willingness (openness) for HED/HID is in its nascent stages. This study represents the first qualitative examination of relationships between intentions and willingness to engage in HED/HID.

METHOD

We conducted individual interviews among 28 young adult high-intensity drinkers (12 male, 15 female, 1 trans male; M age = 23 years). Interviews focused on HED/HID events with open-ended questions examining: (a) variability in intentions/willingness by occasion and within a drinking event; (b) formation of intentions for consumption and/or intoxication; and (c) interplay of willingness and intentions on heavy drinking nights. Verbatim transcripts were coded within NVivo software and content was analyzed using applied thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Participants described intentions and willingness as varying by occasion and perceived their shifting across a drinking event. Intentions for heavy drinking reflected a desired level of intoxication, rather than a specific number of drinks. Willingness, rather than intentions, to engage in heavy drinking/HID was more evident.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings have significant implications for future measurement work in this area. There may be value in assessing intentions and willingness multiple times per day and during the drinking event itself. We also recommend that intentions for both consumption and intoxication levels be assessed, particularly in studies aiming to examine impaired control. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Psychosocial Support, Sexual Health, and HIV Risk among Older Men Who Have Sex with Younger Men

This study examines the extent to which older males are willing to offer psychosocial and sexual health promoting support to their younger male partners, as well as the individual and relationship-level factors associated with this willingness to provide support. In total, 324 men over the age of 45, who currently or previously had younger male sexual partners, completed an anonymous online survey. Results show that participants were most willing to provide emotional support to their younger male partners, followed by health-related encouragement, HIV/STI testing support, and financial support. Of note, HIV positive status and being in a "main partnership" were associated with greater willingness to provide financial support. These results suggest that older men are willing to provide psychosocial and health promotive support to younger male partners, which could be leveraged in targeted interventions to reduce HIV transmission.

How Economic Stress Impacts Risky Sex among African American Adolescents

Given the potential for unintended pregnancy and exposure to sexually transmitted infections, both of which can have long-term deleterious health consequences, the identification of predictors of adolescent risky sexual behavior remains an important line of inquiry. Although prior research has identified a variety of family and individual factors that are associated with risky sexual behavior, few studies have examined the role of family economic stress. The current study utilized three waves of data from a community sample of African American families with adolescents (N = 778, 54% girls, average age = 10.4 years old at Wave 1, 12.3 years old at Wave 2, 15.6 years old at Wave 3) to test the family stress model as an explanation of adolescent risky sexual behavior. Multi-group analyses examined gender differences in the family processes expected to link economic stress and risky sexual behavior. Unlike most studies utilizing this theoretical perspective, family structure was also taken into account. The results supported the propositions of the family stress model for boys and girls for both two-caregiver and single-mother households. Further, in single-mother households, maternal psychological distress continued to have a positive effect on adolescent risky sex even after taking into account the impact of parenting behaviors. Overall, the results suggest that economic stress ripples through the family system, increasing adolescent risky sexual behavior through its negative impact on family processes, highlighting the need for systemic policy changes rather than individual-level intervention/prevention efforts.

Descriptive Norms and Prototypes Predict COVID-19 Prevention Cognitions and Behaviors in the United States: Applying the Prototype Willingness Model to Pandemic Mitigation

BACKGROUND

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, prevention behavior adoption occurred in a rapidly changing context. In contrast to expectancy-value theories, the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) is well-suited for investigating novel and socially informed behaviors.

PURPOSE

We explored whether PWM social cognitions predicted coronavirus prevention behaviors.

METHOD

A representative sample of United States adults (N = 738; Mage = 46.8; 51.8% women; 78% white; April 2020) who had not had COVID-19 reported PWM predictor variables (perceived vulnerability, prevention descriptive norms, prototypes engaging in prevention behavior, and prevention behavioral intentions). Two weeks later, participants reported their prevention behaviors (handwashing, mask-wearing, social distancing, etc.) and future public health behavioral willingness (contact tracing, temperature checks, etc.).

RESULTS

Controlling for putative demographic, past behavior, and coronavirus-contextual (e.g., local infection rates) covariates, mediation models indicated that higher norms and favorable prototypes were associated with greater prevention behavioral intentions, which in turn predicted increased prevention behavior, F(18, 705) = 92.20, p < .001, R2 = .70. Higher norms and favorable prototypes associated both directly and indirectly (through greater prevention behavioral intention) with greater willingness to engage in emerging public health behaviors, F(15, 715) = 21.49, p < .001, R2 = .31.

CONCLUSIONS

Greater descriptive norms and favorable prototypes for prevention behavior predicted: (a) future prevention behaviors through increases in behavioral intentions and (b) willingness to participate in emerging public health behaviors. These results held across demographic groups, political affiliation, and severity of regional outbreaks. Public health efforts to curb pandemics should highlight normative prevention participation and enhance positive prototypes.

Exploring potential gender differences in information security and privacy

Purpose

Information technology users often fail to adopt necessary security and privacy measures, leading to increased risk of cybercrimes. There has been limited research on how demographic differences influence information security behaviour and understanding this could be important in identifying users who may be more likely to have poor information security behaviour. This study aims to investigate whether there are any gender differences in security and privacy behaviours and perceptions, to identify potential differences that may have implications for protecting users’ privacy and securing their devices, software and data.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper addresses this research gap by investigating security behaviours and perceptions in the following two studies: one focussing on information security and one on information privacy. Data was collected in both studies using anonymous online surveys.

Findings

This study finds significant differences between men and women in over 40% of the security and privacy behaviours considered, suggesting that overall levels of both are significantly lower for women than for men, with behaviours that require more technical skill being adopted less by female users. Furthermore, individual perceptions exhibited some gender differences.

Originality/value

This research suggests that potential gender differences in some security and privacy behaviours and perceptions should be taken into account when designing information security education, training and awareness initiatives for both organisations and the broader community. This study also provides a strong foundation to explore information security individual differences more deeply.

Whistleblowing Against Doping Misconduct in Sport: A Reasoned Action Perspective With a Focus on Affective and Normative Processes

Whistleblowing against doping misconduct represents an effective deterrent of doping use in elite competitive sport. The present study assessed the effects of social cognitive variables on competitive athletes' intentions to report doping misconduct. A second objective was to assess whether the effects of social norms on whistleblowing intentions were mediated by actor prototype evaluations and group identification and orientation. In total, 1,163 competitive athletes from Greece, Russia, and the United Kingdom completed a questionnaire on demographics, past behavior, social cognitive variables, and intentions toward whistleblowing. Regression analyses showed that whistleblowing intentions were associated with different social cognitive variables in each country. Multiple mediation modeling showed that attitudes and subjective norms were associated with whistleblowing intentions indirectly, via the effects of anticipated negative affect and group identification and orientation, respectively. The findings of this study are novel and have important implications about the social, cognitive, and normative processes underlying decision making toward reporting doping misconduct.

Comparing Theoretical Models for the Understanding of Health-Risk Behaviour: Towards an Integrative Model of Adolescent Alcohol Consumption

The aim of the present manuscript is to test and compare the theory of reasoned action (TRA), theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and prototype-willingness model (PWM) in predicting risky alcohol consumption among adolescents and to build an integrative model to get a more comprehensive understanding of such risky behaviour. A total sample of 518 adolescents (55% females; 13-19 aged) recruited from Italian schools (7th to 12th grade) participated in a cross-sectional research study and completed an online questionnaire. Risky alcohol use assessed through the AUDIT-C was the dependent variable; whereas, variables from the TRA, TPB, and PWM (i.e. attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, intention, prototype favourability and similarity, and willingness to alcohol use) were used as predictors. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings show that the integrative model had greater explanatory power and provided a better fit to the data, compared to the TRA, TPB, and PWM, indicating attitudes and subjective norms as the best predictors. In conclusion, perceived social approval from significant others and the volitional component have a central role in understanding adolescents’ alcohol consumption.

The impact of flavored ENDS use among adolescents on daily use occasions and number of puffs, and next day intentions and willingness to vape

BACKGROUND

The FDA's policies restricting sale of sweet flavored cartridge-based and disposable electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) comprise important steps toward curbing adolescent ENDS use. However, additional evidence is needed about the contribution of specific flavors to adolescents' ENDS use. This study investigated the effects of flavor use on same day vaping behaviors, and next day intentions and willingness.

METHODS

We collected ecological momentary assessments (EMA) from 50 adolescent past two-week vapers (ages 14-17) over 14 days. Daily EMA data were collected on vaping occasions, total puffs, vaping intentions, vaping willingness, and flavor used.

RESULTS

On average, data were obtained on 13.4 days per participant (670 observations). Participants vaped flavors on 87% of days (fruit = 55%; mint = 30%; tobacco = 6%; menthol = 5%, and candy, sweets, or chocolate = 5%). On days when participants vaped fruit flavors, they took more puffs (r = 0.13, p = .030). On days when they vaped tobacco flavor, they reported more vaping occasions (r = 0.20, p = .005) and more puffs (r = 0.15, p = .033). On days when they vaped because of flavor appeal, they reported more vaping occasions (r = 0.19, p = .001) and more puffs (r = 0.24, p < .001). On days when they vaped menthol flavor, they were less likely to report willingness to vape the next day (r = -0.14, p = .042). Adolescents who reported vaping due to flavor appeal were more likely to report intentions (OR = 5.63, p = .035) and willingness to vape the next day (r = 0.23, p < .001) CONCLUSION: These findings provide additional support for policies restricting the sale of flavored ENDS products to adolescents.

Understanding the predictors of young drivers' speeding intention and behaviour in a three-month longitudinal study

This study aimed to examine to what extent an Adolescent Speeding Specific Model (ASSM), extending the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), predicts young drivers' (aged 18-25) future and past speeding (n = 126). The ASSM tested the contribution of demographics, split TPB, additional predictors and past behaviour to young drivers' speeding at two moments of time, over three months. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that participants most likely to speed in the future were those who have done so in the past (independent predictor (ip): past compliance with the speed limit), and who were not certain in their ability to control their speeding (ip: self-efficacy). ASSM also indicated that people who reported speeding at T1 did so at T2 as well (ip: past compliance with the speed limit). The results also show that sensitive to rewards people would speed more (ip: sensitivity to reward), similar to ones with less control over their behaviour (ip: perceived controllability) or with more driving experience (ip: GDL phase). Overall, the ASSM explained 73% of the intention to comply with speed limits variation and 62% of the present compliance with the speed limit variation. Compared to models, similar in structure to ASSM, our model explained variance in intention, equal to the previously maximum observed, and 22% more variance in behaviour. As a result, our findings may help design better targeted educational campaigns to prevent young drivers' speeding.

Gender and racial/ethnic differences in adolescent intentions and willingness to smoke cigarettes: Evaluation of a structural equation model

Dual-process theories may be effective at predicting adolescent smoking; however, little is known about the effectiveness of these models across race/ethnicity and gender. Adolescents (N = 4035) completed biopsychosocial and tobacco-related perception measures in Grade 7 and reported on smoking initiation in Grade 10. Using structural equation modeling and comparing models by gender and race/ethnicity showed differences, where both intentions and willingness predicted smoking initiation for only Black and male adolescents, compared to their Latino and White and female counterparts. Intentions and willingness appear to play a role in whether an adolescent will initiate smoking in the future, but this does not apply universally across gender and race/ethnicity.

The Prototypes of Tobacco Users Scale (POTUS) for Cigarette Smoking and E-Cigarette Use: Development and Validation

Endorsing prototypes of cigarette smokers predicts cigarette smoking, but less is known about prototypes of users of other tobacco products. Our study sought to establish the reliability and validity of a measure of prototypes of smokers and e-cigarette users. Participants were from a national survey of smokers and non-smokers (n = 1414), a randomized clinical trial (RCT) of adult smokers (n = 2149), and adolescent children of adults in the trial (n = 112). The Prototypes of Tobacco Users Scale (POTUS) has four positive adjectives (cool, sexy, smart, and healthy) and four negative adjectives (disgusting, unattractive, immature, and inconsiderate) describing cigarette smokers and e-cigarette users. Confirmatory factor analyses identified a two-factor solution. The POTUS demonstrated strong internal consistency reliability in all three samples (median α = 0.85) and good test-retest reliability among adults in the RCT (median r = 0.61, 1-4 weeks follow-up). In the RCT, smokers more often agreed with negative prototypes for smokers than for e-cigarette users (mean = 2.03 vs. 1.67, p < 0.05); negative prototypes at baseline were also associated with more forgoing of cigarettes and making a quit attempt at the end of the trial (Week 4 follow-up). The POTUS may be useful to public health researchers seeking to design interventions that reduce tobacco initiation or cessation through the manipulation of tobacco user prototypes.

Awareness of and intention to use an online sexually transmitted and blood-borne infection testing service among gay and bisexual men in British Columbia, two years after implementation

Objectives

This study assessed gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men’s (GBMSM) awareness of and intention to use GetCheckedOnline, an online sexually transmitted and blood-borne infection (STBBI) testing service.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted two years after launch among GBMSM > 18 years of age in British Columbia, Canada. Participants were recruited through community venues, clinics, websites, and apps.

Results

Of 1272 participants, 32% were aware of GetCheckedOnline. Gay identity, regularly testing at an STBBI clinic, being out to one’s healthcare provider, attending GBMSM community venues, and frequent social media use were associated with awareness. Among participants who were aware but had not used GetCheckedOnline, knowing GetCheckedOnline users, using social media, not knowing where else to test, and not wanting to see a doctor were associated with intention to use GetCheckedOnline.

Conclusion

Early promotion of GetCheckedOnline resulted in greater awareness among those connected to GBMSM.

Predictors of Players' Decisions to Help Others in Video Games

Little previous research has examined the in-play decision-making processes of multiplayer video game players related to both prosocial (helping others in general) and altruistic (helping with no expectation of reward) actions. The study used an established decision-making model, the Theory of Planned Behavior, and assessed additional constructs of prototypical images (favorability and similarity to a typical gamer who helps) and general levels of empathy. Participants completed two self-report online surveys. At Time 1, participants (N = 387) completed measures assessing the predictors of prosocial and altruistic intentions. The model accounted for 53 percent of variance in prosocial players' prosocial intentions and 60 percent of variance in players' altruistic intentions. Participants' reported prosocial and altruistic gameplay behaviors were assessed 4 weeks later (n = 107), with intention to help significantly predicting both types of helping behaviors. Given established links between helping and positive health and well-being outcomes, these findings are relevant to both game developers, as well as stakeholders concerned with the impact of video games on players.

Children's conformity to social norms to eat healthy: A developmental perspective

RATIONALE

Previous studies suggest injunctive norms (prompts of what people ought to do) are stronger predictors of healthy eating intentions, whereas descriptive norms (prompts of what people are doing) are stronger predictors of healthy eating behaviors. However, previous research provides little insight into why different norms influence children's health intentions and behaviors differently. In addition, no research has explored developmental differences in children's conformity to, or rejection of, different types of social normative influence. Thus, this paper adopts a developmental perspective to understand why children conform differently to descriptive and injunctive norm messaging on healthy eating.

METHOD

An experiment was done with 405 children in Germany aged 7 to 16. The research design was a 4 (social norms: descriptive vs. injunctive peer vs. injunctive authority vs. control) × 2 (developmental stage: middle childhood vs. adolescence) between-subject design. Children's healthy eating intentions and behaviors were collected as key dependent variables.

RESULTS

and conclusions: The experimental results suggest that children mainly use a descriptive norm as an information shortcut to behaving "appropriately". This should have a stronger impact on younger children than older ones, although both young and old children consider it easier to understand than an injunctive norm. The experimental results further suggest that an injunctive norm mainly influences children via activation of a motive for maintaining a positive self-image in public, rather than one of affiliation. These results are very important for social research on health, because they can explain why different social norms influence health intentions and behaviors differently. In addition, our finding that injunctive norm conformity is mainly used for impression management purposes can reconcile existing contradictory results on the impact of social norms on children.

Patient Prototypes

Abstract. Despite large bodies of research examining perceptions of illnesses and perceptions of people who engage in various health behaviors, very little research has examined perceptions of people who have a specific illness. The aims of this research were to create a measure of “patient prototypes,” mental representations of the type of person who has a specific illness, and to examine their associations with other health cognitions and behaviors. Two survey studies (Study 1: N = 208 and Study 2: N = 246) assessed patient prototype favorability for three illnesses (skin cancer, Human papillomavirus (HPV), and type 2 diabetes) as well as constructs from the common-sense model and prototype willingness model. Patient prototypes for the three illnesses were distinct in terms of specific traits and overall favorability. Generally, patient prototype favorability was unrelated to illness representation dimensions in the common-sense model but was positively associated with some constructs in the prototype/willingness model. All three prototypes were positively correlated with perceived vulnerability. The skin cancer prototype was positively correlated with measures of behavioral willingness, behavioral intention, and actual health behavior (UV exposure). Limitations include the use of young adult participants who have relatively little experience with the illnesses examined. Measures of patient prototype favorability and health behaviors need to be further examined and refined. The novel construct of patient prototype favorability provides a foundation for future inquiry into the role that patient perceptions play in health behavior and the implications for the prototype/willingness model and the common-sense model.

Moral Disengagement and Risk Prototypes in the Context of Adolescent Cyberbullying: Findings From Two Countries

Cyberbullying is associated with a wide range of mental health difficulties and behavioral problems in adolescents and research is needed to better understand psychological correlates of this behavior. The present study used a novel model that incorporated Social Cognitive Theory and the prototype/willingness model to identify the correlates of behavioral willingness to engage in cyberbullying in two countries. Adolescent students were randomly selected from secondary schools in Italy (n = 1710) and Greece (n = 355), and completed anonymous measures of moral disengagement, descriptive norms, risk prototype evaluations and behavioral willingness to engage in cyberbullying. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that willingness to engage in cyberbullying was associated with moral disengagement, prototype evaluations and descriptive social norms in Italy, and with gender, moral disengagement and descriptive social norms in Greece. Regression-based multiple mediation modeling further showed that the association between moral disengagement and cyberbullying willingness was mediated by prototype evaluations in Italy and by descriptive norms in Greece. The implications of our findings are discussed in the context of self-regulating cyberbullying perpetration in adolescents and informing school-based policies and interventions to prevent cyberbullying behavior.

Exploring the application of the Prototype Willingness Model to weight loss dieting behaviour among UK adults

Frequent weight loss dieting leads to increased BMI and is associated with eating pathologies. Theoretical models can aid the development of interventions to reduce risk behaviours such as frequent dieting if they are able to adequately account for the target behaviour. The Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) may be able to account for weight loss dieting as this behaviour is often associated with social images. This study explored whether the PWM could predict weight loss dieting status over and above the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). One hundred and ninety-two participants (69% female; mode age 35-44) completed PWM and TPB measures and recorded their height and weight. Males were more likely to be non-dieters than females. Frequent dieters had a higher BMI than non-dieters and rated themselves as more similar to the overweight prototype. Prototype perceptions predicted willingness to eat unhealthy foods alone. Similarity to the overweight prototype predicted weight loss dieting status over and above TPB measures and sex. Further research should explore prototype perceptions in an obese/overweight frequent dieting population as this may be a fruitful direction for developing interventions to reduce weight loss dieting.

Testing a model of reward sensitivity, implicit and explicit drinker identity and hazardous drinking

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate both implicit and explicit drinker identity as mediators of reward sensitivity and problematic drinking. University students engage in problematic levels of alcohol consumption, exposing them to increased negative health outcomes. Although personality traits (e.g. reward sensitivity) and social-cognitive variables (e.g. implicit and explicit drinker identity) have been used to investigate drinking behaviour, few studies link personality and multiple indices of drinker identity to problematic drinking. Design: University students (N = 136) completed a drinker identity implicit association test, and questionnaires measuring reward sensitivity, explicit binge drinker identity and problematic drinking as part of a lab-based correlational study. Main Outcome Measures: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test was the main outcome measure with participants self-reporting drinking frequency, quantity and negative physical and psychological outcomes of drinking over the past 3-months. Results: A mediation model revealed that reward sensitivity was significantly associated with explicit, but not implicit, binge drinker identity. Explicit binge drinker identity mediated the reward sensitivity and problematic drinking association. Conclusion: This research provides an evidence base for identity-based drinking interventions for students characterised by high reward sensitivity, by promoting identities that do not idealise problematic drinking behaviour.

Similarity to prototypical heavy drinkers and non-drinkers predicts AUDIT-C and risky drinking in young adults: prospective study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to explore whether constructs within the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) predicted risky drinking as measured by AUDIT-C, drinking harms and unplanned drunkenness in a sample of UK young adults. Previous studies exploring the PWM often do not use validated measures of alcohol consumption, and the outcomes of risky drinking are underexplored.

DESIGN

An online prospective study design with 4 week follow-up was employed and 385 young adults completed the study (M age = 21.76, SD = 3.39, 69.6% female; 85.2% students).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Intentions to get drunk, AUDIT-C, drinking harms experienced in the last 4 weeks, and unplanned drunkenness in the last 4 weeks.

RESULTS

Heavy and non-drinker prototype similarity predicted AUDIT-C, drinking harms and unplanned drunkenness when controlling for past behaviour and reasoned action pathway constructs. Intentions and willingness both mediated the relationship between prototype perceptions and AUDIT-C.

CONCLUSION

This study supports the use of the PWM in the prediction of AUDIT-C, drinking harms and unplanned drinking in a UK sample. Prototype perceptions influenced behaviour via both reasoned and reactive cognitions. Targeting similarity to heavy and non-drinker prototypes should be the focus of future interventions in this population.

Predicting Future Academic Willingness, Intentions, and Nonmedical Prescription Stimulant (NPS) Use with the Theory of Reasoned Action and Prototype/Willingness Model

Background: Nonmedical prescription stimulant (NPS) use for academic reasons (e.g., to improve concentration) is a growing problem among college students. However, there is limited theory-driven research that attempts to identify risk cognitions underpinning decisions to use and NPS use for academic purposes. Furthermore, it is unclear if academic NPS use is characterized by deliberative and/or socially reactive processing and what health decision-making model or combination of models best predicts NPS use decisions and use. Identifying cognitions associated with NPS use decisions is essential to develop interventions aimed at preventing and reducing NPS use. Objective: The present study tested the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), Prototype/Willingness Model (PWM), and a combined TRA/PWM model to identify which model best predicts academic NPS use decisions (willingness and intentions) and past 2-month use among college students. Method: Undergraduates (N = 344) participated in a two-wave study assessing T1 constructs from the TRA and PWM as predictors of T2 (2 months later) academic NPS use decisions and use. Results: In the combined TRA/PWM, all T1 constructs were associated with T2 NPS willingness, intentions, and use except for injunctive norms. The integrated model also explained greater variance in T2 use, willingness, and intentions than each model alone. Conclusions/Importance: The combination of cognitions from the TRA/PWM was superior to each individual model and improved the prediction of future NPS use willingness, intentions, and use. The overall results derived from all three models suggest that both deliberative and socially reactive processing influence and characterize academic NPS use decisions and use.

The Impact of Recreational Marijuana Legislation in Washington, DC on Marijuana Use Cognitions

BACKGROUND

There is little published research that tests the effect of recreational marijuana legislation on risk-related cognitions and how individuals respond immediately after legislative approval.

OBJECTIVES

The objective was to test whether learning about the passage of Initiative 71, a voter referendum that legalized recreational use of marijuana in the District of Columbia, would lead individuals to adopt more favorable marijuana cognitions than they had before the Initiative was passed.

METHODS

Undergraduate students (N = 402) completed two web-based questionnaires in 2014. The first questionnaire was completed prior to the referendum vote and the follow-up questionnaire was completed after voters approved Initiative 71. Attitudes, perceived norms, intentions, prototypes, and willingness were measured at time 1 and time 2. Study hypotheses were tested using repeated-measures analysis of covariance.

RESULTS

Results showed that attitudes, intentions, perceived norms, and willingness to use marijuana were more favorable after Initiative 71 was passed. However, the increase in attitudes and willingness was moderated by past experience with marijuana whereby the increases were statistically significant only among those with the least experience. The increase in perceived norms was also moderated by past experience whereby increases were statistically significant among those who were moderate or heavy users. The passage of Initiative 71 had no effect on favorable prototypes. Conclusion/Importance: Legalization may have the unintended outcome of leading to more favorable intentions to use marijuana and might lead abstainers or experimental users to become more frequent users of marijuana via more positive attitudes and willingness towards marijuana use.

A prototype-targeting intervention for the promotion of healthy eating in adolescents

Purpose

Unhealthy eating among adolescents from families with lower social status is a major concern. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and evaluation of a prototype-targeting intervention for the promotion of healthy eating in this target group.

Design/methodology/approach

The planning model intervention mapping (IM) was chosen to proceed systematically, to use theory and evidence herein and to make decisions transparent. A controlled study with three times of data assessment was conducted to evaluate process characteristics and effects (N=108).

Findings

“Provide opportunities for social comparison” (behavioural change technique 6.2) was chosen as change method and “perceived similarity” was identified as the condition for its effectiveness. An intervention unit was designed for application. The evaluation results show the feasibility of the unit; materials and activities successfully applied the change method and its condition for effectiveness; and intervention objectives were generally achieved.

Practical implications

A prototype-targeting intervention is provided that is based on theory and evidence, and is suitable for implementation. More generally, the paper can serve as a blueprint for the systematic planning of theory- and evidence-based interventions targeting specific personal determinants for behaviour change.

Originality/value

The paper makes an important contribution to the application of the prototype-related theory and a useful addition of IM to the growing field of intervention development and design.

Women's Self-Perceived Similarity to Their Mother and Associations with Patterns of Alcohol Misuse over 20 Years

AIMS

This study examined transgenerational transmission of risk for female alcohol misuse. Women's perceived similarity to their mother/father in adulthood was examined in terms of its influence on the expected association between perceived maternal alcohol use and female offsprings' trajectories of alcohol misuse. We hypothesized that a daughter's self-perceived similarity to her mother, in instances where her mother was perceived to be a frequent- or problem-drinker, would be associated with an increase in the daughter's count of negative consequences from alcohol use and potential symptoms of alcohol dependence across adulthood.

SHORT SUMMARY

Women's perceived similarity to their mother/father was examined as a factor influencing associations between perceived parental alcohol use during childhood and patterns of alcohol misuse in adulthood. Women's self-perceived similarity to their frequent- or problem-drinking mothers increased the risk of negative consequences from drinking over time as well as potential symptoms of alcohol dependence over time.

METHODS

Analyses utilized data from a survey of women (N = 911) who were followed over a 20-year period, beginning in 1981. Women, ages 21 or older and living in households in the contiguous USA, were eligible, and women who consumed four or more alcoholic drinks per week were oversampled. Model estimates were weighted to adjust for the oversampling of heavier drinking women and to reflect national demographics. Latent growth mixture models estimated regression parameters that captured variation in participants' alcohol misuse over time.

RESULTS

Women who reported that their mother was a frequent- or problem-drinker and who perceived themselves to be similar to their mother, in general, showed increases in alcohol misuse. The same pattern of results was not shown for fathers.

CONCLUSIONS

Results support that interventions seeking to reduce female alcohol misuse should address the role of perceived similarity to heavy-drinking female role models or 'female-drinker' prototypes to reduce problem-drinking behavior among female drinkers.

Driver prototypes and behavioral willingness: Young driver risk perception and reported engagement in risky driving

INTRODUCTION

This study aimed to explore perceived risk and reported willingness to engage in risky driving in a sample of young Australian drivers. The study also considered the influence of gender, driving experience, and risky driver prototypes on willingness to engage in risky driving. Within this context, a prototype is a social image of the type of person who engages in specific risk behaviors. In the prototype willingness model (PWM), willingness accounts for motivations that do not directly rely on planning or goal formation.

METHODS

The PWM was applied to a sample of 554 drivers (aged 17-25 years) to explore how risky driver prototypes: similarity (extent of identification with the prototype), favorability (how positive is the image), and behavioral willingness, may influence their perceived risk and reported engagement in risky driving behaviors. Drivers holding an Australian driver's license (Provisional 1, Provisional 2, or Open) anonymously completed an online survey measuring: 1) driver prototypes and behavioral willingness to engage in risky driving behaviors, 2) perceived risk of driving-related behaviors, and 3) the Behavior of Young Novice Drivers Scale transient and fixed violations subscales.

RESULTS

Path analysis explored relationships between prototypes and willingness variables, perceived risk, and reported driving engagement. Goodness-of-fit statistics supported the conceptual model. Behavioral willingness showed the strongest relationship with perceived risk (negative) and reported driving violation engagement (positive).

CONCLUSIONS

Risky driver prototypes and behavioral willingness, as well as driver's sex and driving experience, may help to explain individual differences in perceived risk, and young driver reported risky driving engagement.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Identifying relevant factors that could be amenable to change, such as driver prototype and willingness variables, may contribute to improved road safety initiatives, and provide information and support to counter factors that might otherwise facilitate young drivers' risk perceptions and risky driving engagement.

Understanding the psychological precursors of young drivers' willingness to speed and text while driving

This study applied the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) to investigate the factors that may predict young drivers' (non-intentional) willingness to text while driving, text while stopped, and engage in high and low levels of speeding. In addition, the study sought to assess whether general optimism bias would predict young drivers' willingness to text and speed over and above the PWM. Licenced drivers (N = 183) aged 17-25 years (M = 19.84, SD = 2.30) in Queensland, Australia completed an online survey. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that the PWM was effective in explaining the variance in willingness to perform all four illegal driving behaviours. Particularly, young drivers who possessed favourable attitudes and a positive prototype perception towards these behaviours were more willing to engage in texting and speeding. In contrast to the study's predictions, optimistically biased beliefs decreased young drivers' willingness to text while stopped and engage in high and low levels of speeding. The findings of the study may help inform policy and educational campaigns to better target risky driving behaviours by considering the influence of attitudes, prototypes and the non-intentional pathway that may lead to engagement in texting while driving and stopped and engagement in high and low levels of speeding.

The Effects of Mothers' Protective Parenting and Alcohol Use on Emerging Adults' Alcohol Use: Testing Indirect Effects Through Prototype Favorability Among African American Youth

BACKGROUND

We examined how mothers' protective parenting and alcohol use influenced changes in offspring's heavy drinking among a sample of African American youth. The conceptual model also tested indirect effects of mothers' behaviors, through changes in the youths' social images (i.e., prototypes) of heavy drinkers, derived from the prototype willingness (PW) model.

METHODS

Participants were 686 emerging adults (55% female) from the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS), an ongoing prospective study of African American families. Three waves of FACHS data were used as follows: T3 during 10th grade (M age = 16.3 years), T4 shortly after high school (M age = 19.4 years), and T5 3 years later (M age = 22.1 years). Mothers' self-reports of protective parenting and alcohol use were assessed at T4. Two separate path models tested the study hypotheses. The first model specified direct and indirect effects of mothers' protective parenting and alcohol use. The second model added interaction terms between the protective parenting behaviors and mothers' alcohol use. The analyses were first conducted using the full sample and then repeated separately for female and male participants.

RESULTS

Maternal alcohol use had a positive and direct effect on offspring's alcohol use. Mothers' endorsement of alcohol-related rules inhibited normative increases in the favorability of the offspring's social image of heavy drinkers (prototype) while her warmth was positively related to these increases. Maternal alcohol use amplified the positive association between mothers' warmth and the daughters' increased drinking. For sons, maternal alcohol use increased the positive association between alcohol-related rules and increased prototype favorability.

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicated clear gender differences in how mothers' behaviors influence her offspring's alcohol use during the transition to emerging adulthood. Interventions that target culturally specific risk and protective factors within the family environment are needed to reduce health disparities among this vulnerable population of youth.

Racial (vs. self) affirmation as a protective mechanism against the effects of racial exclusion on negative affect and substance use vulnerability among black young adults

Affirming one's racial identity may help protect against the harmful effects of racial exclusion on substance use cognitions. This study examined whether racial versus self-affirmation (vs. no affirmation) buffers against the effects of racial exclusion on substance use willingness and substance use word associations in Black young adults. It also examined anger as a potential mediator of these effects. After being included, or racially excluded by White peers, participants were assigned to a writing task: self-affirmation, racial-affirmation, or describing their sleep routine (neutral). Racial exclusion predicted greater perceived discrimination and anger. Excluded participants who engaged in racial-affirmation reported reduced perceived discrimination, anger, and fewer substance use cognitions compared to the neutral writing group. This relation between racial-affirmation and lower substance use willingness was mediated by reduced perceived discrimination and anger. Findings suggest racial-affirmation is protective against racial exclusion and, more generally, that ethnic based approaches to minority substance use prevention may have particular potential.

Unspoken Playground Rules Discourage Adolescent Physical Activity in School: A Focus Group Study of Constructs in the Prototype Willingness Model

The health benefits of exercise in school are recognized, yet physical activity continues to decline during early adolescence despite numerous interventions. In this study, we investigated whether the prototype willingness model, an account of adolescent decision making that includes both reasoned behavioral choices and unplanned responses to social environments, might improve understanding of physical activity in school. We conducted focus groups with British pupils aged 12 to 13 years and used deductive thematic analysis to search for themes relating to the model. Participants described reasoned decisions about physical activity outside school and unplanned choices to be inactive during break, in response to social contexts described as more "judgmental" than in primary school. Social contexts appeared characterized by anxiety about competence, negative peer evaluation, and inactive playground norms. The prototype willingness model might more fully explain physical activity in school than reasoned behavioral models alone, indicating potential for interventions targeting anxieties about playground social environments.