Prior studies have failed to identify the dynamics between the momentary manifestation of personality traits (namely personality states) and cognitive-affective mechanisms in relation to physical activity. The current study modelized the temporal associations between daily personality states, affect (valence) and pursuit of personal goals before and during a physical exercise intervention. Single cases using an A (10 days) -B (42 days) design paired with ecological momentary assessments was used in 10 inactive adults. Idiographic network analyses and generalized additive models were performed. The magnitude of the association between personality states, affect and pursuit of personal goals were modified during the intervention. Their respective weight of the variables in the networks during the exercise intervention followed an individual pattern. The intervention was associated with a systematic change in levels of pursuit of personal goals, with seven participants showing a non-linear association. The complexity of individual networks before and during the intervention stresses the importance of an idiographic level of analysis, especially in the context of an exercise intervention. Highlights:Idiographic levels of association between personality states, affect and pursuit of personal goals can be modified during a physical exercise intervention.The respective weight of personality states, affect and pursuit of personal goals in the idiographic networks during the exercise intervention follows an individual pattern.The physical activity intervention is associated with a systematic non-linear change in the level of goal facilitation and goal conflict.

Introduction: Couples at high risk of transmitting a genetic disease to their offspring have several reproductive options. As decision making is often experienced as difficult, there is a need for a decision aid (DA), to assist couples in their reproductive decision-making process and to reduce decisional conflict and increase (joint) informed decision-making. This article describes the design of a nationwide randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of the online DA.Methods: The development of the DA was based on the International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS) guidelines. A nationwide multi-centre Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) will be conducted in the eight genetic centres in the Netherlands to assess the effects of the DA, compared to a website with standardized information based on information provided during standard care. The required sample size is 128 couples. Participants are randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group and are asked to complete four questionnaires within six months to study the effects of the information. The questionnaires will assess decisional conflict, knowledge, attitude, deliberation, and the decision-making process between partners.Discussion: Findings of this study can help to improve the counselling of couples at risk of transmitting a genetic disease to their offspring. Additionally, it provides insight into the joint informed decision-making process of couples. This could help professionals to better support both partners during consultations.Trial registration number: N9415.

Crowding, a key factor that catalyzes the transmission of infectious diseases, disproportionately affects individuals from lower socioeconomic groups. The purpose of the current study was to assess whether socioeconomic status (SES) and crowding are related to differences in COVID-19 risk and efficacy perceptions and whether these perceptions explain protective behaviors. We specifically focused on household income and education as indicators of SES, and household crowding and public transportation use as indicators of crowding. Results from an online survey of 387 working adults, collected during the second peak of the pandemic in Turkey, showed that SES and public transportation use were negatively related to COVID-19 risk perceptions. On the other hand, SES, household crowding, and COVID-19 risk and efficacy perceptions were positively related to hygiene-related protective behavior and physical distancing. Moreover, the association between COVID-19 perceived protective norms and physical distancing was moderated by household crowding such that the positive relationship between protective norms and physical distancing was stronger at higher levels of domestic crowding. Yet, robustness checks suggest that further evidence is needed before to make any definitive conclusions about the interaction effect.

Increasing vaccination hesitancy that burdens global health and safety can be attributed to multiple reasons. Individuals’ social environment seems to be the catalyst for vaccination hesitancy perpetuation, thus it is important to examine the influence of different social network mechanisms in vaccination attitudes’ contagion. The proposed pilot experiment will examine the social contagion of childhood vaccination attitudes within a parental community using social network interventions. By identifying centrally-located people or groups of like-minded individuals from a parents’ community, we will examine whether the position of a person within a social group can have a greater impact in spreading positive vaccination messages to other community members. Parents will be recruited from social media and will be randomly assigned into three groups. Firstly, each group will participate in an online game to map their social networks and identify members with certain network position, who will then receive a short training about valid vaccination information provisions. All groups’ members will participate in daily vaccination discussion groups for one week, where the selected members will spread positive vaccination attitudes to others. We hypothesize that centrally located individuals and like-minded group of people will more likely cause a change on the childhood-vaccination attitudes and will sustain a long-term change at 3 months follow-up, compared to randomly located people.

Background: A healthy parental feeding program consisting of six sequential modules was developed to improve parental feeding behaviours. The six modules focusing on various parental feeding behaviours were found to be moderately effective in changing behaviour. In this study, one of those modules (the self-efficacy module) was systematically adapted and evaluated using Intervention Mapping (IM).Methods: In a literature review (Study 1), the relevance of self-efficacy as a determinant for parental feeding habits was examined. In study 2, the behaviour change techniques used in the original healthy parental feeding program were analysed and adapted to fulfil the related parameters of effectiveness. In study 3, the effectiveness of the new module was pilot-tested among parents (N= 27). Parents received either the original self-efficacy module (group 1), the adapted self-efficacy module (group 2), or no additional module (group 3/control-group). Parental self-efficacy was measured at baseline, post-intervention and at one-week follow-up.Results: In study 1, self-efficacy was identified as a relevant (i.e., important and changeable) determinant for parental feeding habits. In study 2, parameters for effectiveness of the used behaviour change techniques were added where necessary, and texts were changed to improve understanding. In study 3, both the original and new module appeared to increase self-efficacy compared to the no-intervention control group.Discussion: This study was an attempt to adapt existing behaviour change programs based on theory and evidence. However, we were not successful in changing self-efficacy more as compared to the original module.

Emerging adult college students (77 men, 82 women) in the U.S. evaluated consent and the acceptability of a sexual act in hypothetical scenarios which varied the response of the protagonist/victim, the length of the relationship and the gender of the protagonist. Judgments of the acceptability of sexual acts were strongly associated with judgments of consent. Judgments of consent and the acceptability, responsibility for and deserved-punishment for the sexual act differed depending on the victim’s responses and relationships lengths. Compared to women, men judged sex after the freezing response to be more acceptable, and the perpetrator to be less responsible and less punish-worthy. In addition, men were less likely than women to label responses where the victim froze as rape. No differences were found between participants in their first years of college compared to their last years of college.

Objective: This study aims to explore students’ adherence and reasons behind the (non)adherence to the COVID-19-regulations within a university setting.Methods: A total of 33 students participated in on-site and online focus group interviews (k = 8). Discussed topics included the general COVID-19-guidelines of the university, including keeping ≥1.5 m distance, staying at home and getting tested when having symptoms, and wearing facemasks. Additionally, education and psychosocial wellbeing in times of COVID-19 were discussed. We also conducted online interviews with stewards (2 focus group interviews and 1 individual interview) and security/crowd control officials (1 focus group interview) to learn more about students’ (non)adherence behaviors.Results: The findings of this study show that the interviewed students were willing to adhere to the guidelines within the university buildings. They mentioned several facilitators (e.g., the infrastructure of the buildings and staff) and barriers (e.g., being together with friends and difficulties with telling others to follow the regulations) for their compliance behaviors. Some students also stated that they are not afraid of COVID-19 because they are young, while others adhered to the regulations to protect vulnerable people. Focus group interviews with stewards/security did not add anything new to the findings.Conclusion: To create a safe environment within the university and alleviate the spread of the virus, future interventions require targeting the determinants of students’ non-adherence behaviors, such as lower risk perception (e.g., being young and no perceived threat/low vulnerability) and lower self-efficacy (e.g., for keeping distance, to determine symptoms for testing/isolating and to correct others).

In this study, parental attitudes towards aerobic and strength exercises from Turkish parents were examined. In a first study, interviews were conducted with 10 Turkish parents (4 mothers, 6 fathers). In a second study, a Dutch study by ten Hoor et al. (2015) was replicated in Turkey after which data was cautiously compared to examine if there are any cultural differences. A total of 321 Turkish parents filled out an online survey regarding their own and their children’s physical activity, and more specifically, their attitudes towards aerobic and strength exercises. Overall, study 1 showed that Turkish parents were positive about their children’s strength exercises. Similar to the study by Ten Hoor et al. (2015), study 2 demonstrated that Turkish parents had more positive attitudes for aerobic exercises compared to strength exercises. Cautious comparisons between Dutch and Turkish parents generally showed no differences. Turkish parents with negative attitudes towards strength exercises of their child provided similar reasons compared to the Dutch sample. In conclusion, Turkish and Dutch parents have similar opinions regarding physical activity and its types. For Turkish parents, negative attitudes about strength exercises are based on misperceptions – similar to what was found in Dutch parents. Future interventions are needed to deal with those misperceptions.

Background: Although most young people do not become seriously ill from the coronavirus causing the COVID-19 disease, they do play a role in its spread. It is therefore important that they adhere to the recommended preventive behaviors, most importantly, physical distancing. This study aims to gain a better understanding of the psychosocial determinants of young people’s physical distancing behavior and the role that direct (i.e., interpersonal) and mediated communication (i.e., mass media, social media) about COVID-19 plays in this.Methods: A daily diary study was conducted among 481 Dutch adolescents (secondary school students; age range 10–18 years) and 404 young adults (university students; age range 17–25 years), involving 10 identical daily surveys administered on weekdays during a 2-week period during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (May 2020). The hypotheses were tested with preregistered univariate and multivariate linear mixed-effects models.Results: The perceived descriptive norm (i.e., what friends are doing) was the most important determinant of physical distancing behavior among both adolescents and young adults. The perceived injunctive norm, perceived response efficacy, and perceived severity were also positively associated with physical distancing, albeit less strong. Among adolescents, exposure to information about COVID-19 in the mass media increased their perceptions of the descriptive norm, which in turn increased their physical distancing behavior.Conclusions: For those involved in studying and designing COVID-19-related behavioral interventions and campaigns targeting youth, it is important to consider the social norms that they relate to, and to take into account their perceived severity and response efficacy.

Many societal problems are related to human behavior. To change behavior, it is crucial to be aware of Lewin’s formula indicating that behavior is a function of a person and their environment. Technology provides opportunities with regard to (measurement of) all three elements of this formula. This raises the question how existing technologies can be used to improve behavior change science.This article provides two answers to this question: application and innovation of theory. Technology can be used to apply behavior change methods in practice. For example, providing computer-tailored feedback based on a social-cognitive profile. Technology can also be used to innovate theory, which is less common, but results in more progress. For example, technology provides opportunities to triangulate ecological momentary assessment (EMA) with smartphone native sensor data to track behavior and environmental factors. If the opportunities provided by technology are combined with a rationale on how and which data to collect, then these data can be used to answer theoretically driven questions. Answering such questions results in better theories to both explain and change behavior. This is highly relevant for more effective and more efficient solutions to all societal problems related to human behavior.