Knight, R. and Norman, P.D. (2016) Impact of brief self-affirmation manipulations on university students' reactions to risk information about binge drinking. British Journal of Health Psychology, 21 (3). pp. 570-583. ISSN 1359-107X
Abstract
Objectives Binge drinking is associated with an array of negative health consequences and is particularly prevalent in university students. Health-risk messages about alcohol may fail to change such behaviour because they are dismissed or derogated. The present study sought to compare the effect of three brief self-affirmation manipulations on message processing, message acceptance, and subsequent alcohol-related behaviour in university students.
Design Participants (N = 307) were randomly allocated to condition (kindness questionnaire, values essay, attributes questionnaire, control questionnaire) before reading a health-risk message about binge drinking.
Methods After reading the message, participants completed measures of message processing (message reactance, message evaluation, counter-arguing) and message acceptance (perceived risk, intention, plans) as well as a manipulation check. Alcohol consumption was assessed 1 week later.
Results Participants in all three self-affirmation conditions scored significantly higher than participants in the control condition on the manipulation check measure. All other self-affirmation effects were non-significant.
Conclusions While the three self-affirmation manipulations were found to be self-affirming, they failed to impact on measures of message processing, message acceptance, or subsequent behaviour. The findings concur with previous research that questions the use of self-affirmation to reduce alcohol consumption in university students. Current self-affirmation manipulations may not be strong enough to overcome defensive processing of health-risk messages about alcohol in students and/or prime social goals that are related to the domain under threat (i.e., alcohol consumption), thereby nullifying any positive self-affirmation effects.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 The British Psychological Society. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in British Journal of Health Psychology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | alcohol; self-affirmation; intervention; college |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 08 Feb 2016 11:55 |
Last Modified: | 11 Apr 2017 05:58 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12186 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/bjhp.12186 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:94398 |