Knight Rebecca, Norman Paul
Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK.
Br J Health Psychol. 2016 Sep;21(3):570-83. doi: 10.1111/bjhp.12186. Epub 2016 Feb 4.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Health-risk messages to reduce alcohol consumption (e.g., binge drinking) in university students may fail due to defensive processing (e.g., message derogation). Self-affirmation has been proposed as a technique to bolster one's self-integrity and promote open-minded processing of health-risk messages. Most previous studies that have presented health-risk messages about alcohol to university students have used a values essay to self-affirm participants with equivocal results. What does this study add? There are few studies that have directly compared different self-affirmation manipulations. All three self-affirmation manipulations were found by participants to be self-affirming, consistent with the idea that there are multiple ways individuals can self-affirm, but had no significant effects on message processing, message acceptance, or behaviour. Self-affirmation manipulations may lead individuals to reflect on interpersonal values that are related to alcohol consumption in students and may therefore prime the very cognitions and behaviour that they seek to reduce.
暴饮与一系列负面健康后果相关，且在大学生中尤为普遍。关于酒精的健康风险信息可能无法改变这种行为，因为它们会被忽视或贬低。本研究旨在比较三种简短的自我肯定操作对大学生信息处理、信息接受以及随后与酒精相关行为的影响。
在阅读一篇关于暴饮的健康风险信息之前，参与者（N = 307）被随机分配到不同条件组（善良问卷组、价值观短文组、特质问卷组、控制问卷组）。
阅读信息后，参与者完成信息处理（信息抵触、信息评价、反驳）和信息接受（感知风险、意图、计划）的测量以及一个操纵检验。1周后评估酒精摄入量。
在操纵检验测量中，所有三个自我肯定条件组的参与者得分均显著高于控制条件组的参与者。所有其他自我肯定效应均不显著。
虽然发现这三种自我肯定操作具有自我肯定作用，但它们未能影响信息处理、信息接受或后续行为的测量。这些发现与先前质疑使用自我肯定来减少大学生酒精消费的研究一致。当前的自我肯定操作可能不够强大，无法克服学生对关于酒精的健康风险信息的防御性处理，和/或引发与受威胁领域（即酒精消费）相关的社会目标，从而抵消任何积极的自我肯定效应。贡献声明关于这个主题已知的内容有哪些？减少大学生酒精消费（如暴饮）的健康风险信息可能因防御性处理（如信息贬低）而失败。自我肯定已被提议作为一种增强自我完整性并促进对健康风险信息进行开放处理的技术。之前大多数向大学生呈现关于酒精的健康风险信息的研究都使用价值观短文来自我肯定参与者，结果不一。这项研究增加了什么？很少有研究直接比较不同的自我肯定操作。参与者发现所有三种自我肯定操作都具有自我肯定作用，这与个人可以通过多种方式进行自我肯定的观点一致，但对信息处理、信息接受或行为没有显著影响。自我肯定操作可能会导致个体思考与学生酒精消费相关的人际价值观，因此可能引发他们试图减少的认知和行为。
