Lueck Jennifer A
a Department of Communication , Texas A&M University , College Station , Texas , USA.
J Health Commun. 2017 Jul;22(7):593-603. doi: 10.1080/10810730.2017.1324538. Epub 2017 Jun 1.
Although disproportionally affected by depression, most depressed college students do not seek the help they need. Research has recently uncovered the potential negative effects of depression help-seeking messages if depressed cognition is not considered in the health message design process. It is unclear if depression determines whether and how individuals pay attention to gain- and loss-framed depression help-seeking messages-a mechanism that has significant implications for the strategic planning of health communication interventions. In order to enable the effective matching of message design and audience features, this study investigated attention patterns for gain (n = 75)- and loss (n = 78)-framed depression help-seeking messages using eye-tracking technology and self-report measures. The results confirmed that depression is a characteristic of risk avoidance and negative cognition. Depressed participants tended to pay more attention to disease information that was placed in a loss-framed rather than a gain-framed depression help-seeking message. Using negative message framing strategies for health messages seeking to educate about depression symptoms might therefore be a useful persuasive strategy-particularly when disseminated to vulnerable populations affected by depression. Furthermore, the present study emphasizes the effective use of eye-tracking technology in communication research.
尽管抑郁症对大学生的影响尤为严重，但大多数抑郁的大学生并未寻求他们所需的帮助。最近的研究发现，如果在健康信息设计过程中不考虑抑郁认知，抑郁症求助信息可能会产生潜在的负面影响。目前尚不清楚抑郁症是否决定了个体是否以及如何关注收益框架和损失框架的抑郁症求助信息——这一机制对健康传播干预的战略规划具有重要意义。为了使信息设计与受众特征有效匹配，本研究使用眼动追踪技术和自我报告测量方法，调查了收益框架（n = 75）和损失框架（n = 78）的抑郁症求助信息的关注模式。结果证实，抑郁症是一种风险规避和消极认知的特征。抑郁的参与者往往更关注置于损失框架而非收益框架的抑郁症求助信息中的疾病信息。因此，对于旨在宣传抑郁症症状的健康信息，使用负面信息框架策略可能是一种有效的说服策略——尤其是在传播给受抑郁症影响的弱势群体时。此外，本研究强调了眼动追踪技术在传播研究中的有效应用。
