Assessment of the Predictors and Moderators of Health Behavior Change

NCT03139656 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 4345E
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 118
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will investigate three interventions-values clarification, planning, or combined (values clarification + planning)-for increasing goal-consistent health behavior (e.g., exercise or dieting). The investigators will also examine how intervention effects differ based on various psychological and neuropsychological factors, to better understand how interventions can be tailored to specific individuals. The investigators hypothesize a) that the combined intervention will increase goal-consistent exercise behavior more than the other interventions; and b) that individuals scoring higher on self-concordance or goal-commitment will benefit more from planning, whereas those with more positive expectancies or scoring higher on neuropsychological measures (e.g., working memory) will benefit more from values clarification.

Conditions

Health Behaviors

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Goal Progress

  This 3-item goal progress measure assesses participants' self-reported effort towards and success at meeting their specified goal over the past week, each on a 7-point Likert scale. The third item assesses the number of actions participants have undertaken to realize their goal in the past week (previously shown to be a valid indicator of goal pursuit; Oettingen et al., 2001; Sevincer \& Oettingen, 2009).

  Change from baseline to 1-week and 4-week follow-ups

Secondary Outcomes (17)

• Perceived Locus of Causality (PLOC)

  Change from baseline to 1-week and 4-week follow-ups

• Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)

  Change from baseline to 1-week and 4-week follow-ups

• Goal Rating Measure

  Change from baseline to 1-week and 4-week follow-ups

• Goal Orientation Scale

  Change from baseline to 1-week and 4-week follow-ups

• Action Control Scale - Preoccupation subscale

  Change from baseline to 1-week and 4-week follow-ups

Study Arms (3)

Values Clarification

EXPERIMENTAL

This intervention will incorporate elements from several widely established self-regulatory strategies aimed at enhancing the motivational aspects of goal pursuit, including mental contrasting (Oettingen, 2000), self-reflection (Koestner et al., 2002), self-affirmation (Schmeichel and Vohs, 2009), and the values clarification components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; Hayes, Strosahl, \& Wilson, 1999). Participants will be prompted to enter their selected health goal and will then be instructed to identify personal values that might be practiced in pursuit of this goal. Participants will write about these values for several minutes, after which they will be instructed to select a short phrase or image that conjures up for them the reasons they choose to engage in their goal. Participants will be asked to type the phrase into a textbox and will have the option of receiving a confidential print-out of their chosen phrase at the end of the study visit.

Behavioral: Values Clarification

Planning

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this condition will be guided to create detailed implementation intentions, or if-then planning statements (Gollwitzer \& Sheeran, 2006), specifying when, how, and where they will engage in their selected health goal. Participants will be provided with a detailed rationale adapted from earlier research on implementation intentions (e.g., Webb et al., 2010). Participants will be guided to generate a plan indicating when, where, and how they will enact their goal-based behavior over the next week. They will also be prompted to identify 3 obstacles they are likely to encounter during the pursuit of each goal, and to specify in an "if-then" format what specific actions they will take to overcome each obstacle (following the procedures and sample "if-then" responses of Koestner et al., 2002). They will be asked to rehearse each "if-then" statement to themselves before the end of the visit.

Behavioral: Planning

Combined (Values Clarification & Planning)

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this condition will complete abbreviated versions of both the "values clarification" and "planning" procedures, as detailed above. Participants will be prompted to identify 2 obstacles (as opposed to 3) they might encounter during the pursuit of each goal. For each of the obstacles they identify with respect to each of their target goals, they will be prompted to form an additional implementation intention in the form: "When \[I encounter the specified obstacle\], I will do \[X\] and remember \[values-based statement or image identified during "values clarification" exercise\]." They will be asked to rehearse these "if-then" statements to themselves before the end of the visit.

Behavioral: Combined

Interventions

Values Clarification BEHAVIORAL

This intervention will incorporate elements from several widely established self-regulatory strategies aimed at enhancing the motivational aspects of goal pursuit, including mental contrasting (Oettingen, 2000), self-reflection (Koestner et al., 2002), self-affirmation (Schmeichel and Vohs, 2009), and the values clarification components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; Hayes, Strosahl, \& Wilson, 1999). Participants will be prompted to enter their selected health goal and will then be instructed to identify personal values that might be practiced in pursuit of this goal. Participants will write about these values for several minutes, after which they will be instructed to select a short phrase or image that conjures up for them the reasons they choose to engage in their goal. Participants will be asked to type the phrase into a textbox and will have the option of receiving a confidential print-out of their chosen phrase at the end of the study visit.

Values Clarification

Planning BEHAVIORAL

Participants in this condition will be guided to create detailed implementation intentions, or if-then planning statements (Gollwitzer \& Sheeran, 2006), specifying when, how, and where they will engage in their selected health goal. Participants will be provided with a detailed rationale adapted from earlier research on implementation intentions (e.g., Webb et al., 2010). Participants will be guided to generate a plan indicating when, where, and how they will enact their goal-based behavior over the next week. They will also be prompted to identify 3 obstacles they are likely to encounter during the pursuit of each goal, and to specify in an "if-then" format what specific actions they will take to overcome each obstacle (following the procedures and sample "if-then" responses of Koestner et al., 2002). They will be asked to rehearse each "if-then" statement to themselves before the end of the visit.

Planning

Combined BEHAVIORAL

Participants in this condition will complete abbreviated versions of both the "values clarification" and "planning" procedures, as detailed above. Participants will be prompted to identify 2 obstacles (as opposed to 3) they might encounter during the pursuit of each goal. For each of the obstacles they identify with respect to each of their target goals, they will be prompted to form an additional implementation intention in the form: "When \[I encounter the specified obstacle\], I will do \[X\] and remember \[values-based statement or image identified during "values clarification" exercise\]. They will be asked to rehearse these "if-then" statements to themselves before the end of the visit.

Combined (Values Clarification & Planning)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Boston University Psychology 101 students at least 18 years of age
• Able to provide informed consent for the study
• Sufficient command of the English language
• Have experience using a computer and mouse

You may not qualify if:

• None

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Boston University Charles River Campus: lead

Study Sites (1)

Boston University

Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Health Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 28, 2017
• First Posted: May 4, 2017
• Study Start: March 1, 2017
• Primary Completion: June 13, 2018
• Study Completion: June 13, 2018
• Last Updated: June 15, 2018

Record last verified: 2018-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)