Abstract
The behavior of concerned significant others (CSOs) can have a measurable impact on the health and wellness of individuals attempting to meet behavioral and health goals, and research is needed to better understand the attributes of text-based CSO language when encouraging target significant others (TSOs) to achieve those goals. In an effort to inform the development of interventions for CSOs, this study examined the language content of brief text-based messages generated by CSOs to motivate TSOs to achieve a behavioral goal. CSOs generated brief text-based messages for TSOs for three scenarios: (1) to help TSOs achieve the goal, (2) in the event that the TSO is struggling to meet the goal, and (3) in the event that the TSO has given up on meeting the goal. Results indicate that there was a significant relationship between the tone and compassion of messages generated by CSOs, the CSOs’ perceptions of TSO motivation, and their expectation of a grateful or annoyed reaction by the TSO to their feedback or support. Results underscore the importance of attending to patterns in language when CSOs communicate with TSOs about goal achievement or failure, and how certain variables in the CSOs’ perceptions of their TSOs affect these characteristics.
Highlights
The past few decades have witnessed an increased focus on how concerned significant others (CSOs) can impact the health and wellness of individuals attempting to meet health goals (Zimmerman & Connor, 1989; Franks, Campbell & Shields, 1992; Hurdle, 2001; Gallant, 2013)
Resources have been designed for CSOs, ranging in scope from educational initiatives by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) for any number of mental health issues to targeted support groups like Al Anon for CSOs of drinkers. Behavioral interventions, such as Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training (CRAFT), have been designed to optimize the way CSOs communicate with their target significant others (TSOs), with the goal of
The growing consensus among researchers and health care professionals is that TSOs require environments that are supportive of behavior change, and that effective communication between CSOs and TSOs is central to fostering meaningful change beyond the clinic
Summary
The past few decades have witnessed an increased focus on how concerned significant others (CSOs) can impact the health and wellness of individuals attempting to meet health goals (Zimmerman & Connor, 1989; Franks, Campbell & Shields, 1992; Hurdle, 2001; Gallant, 2013). Behavioral interventions, such as Community Reinforcement Approach and Family Training (CRAFT), have been designed to optimize the way CSOs communicate with their target significant others (TSOs), with the goal of. For CSOs with a substance abusing TSO, the CRAFT program has been shown to be quite successful in its treatment engagement aims (Roozen, De Waart & Van Der Kroft, 2010). The growing consensus among researchers and health care professionals is that TSOs require environments that are supportive of behavior change, and that effective communication between CSOs and TSOs is central to fostering meaningful change beyond the clinic
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