Factorial Survey Design Research Articles

A vignette study analysing factors influencing attributions of responsibility to victims and perpetrators of intimate partner violence against women

Evidence shows that blaming attitudes towards victims of intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) are widespread, creating a social climate that condones this form of violence. The aim of the current study is to analyse the potential impact of multiple factors surrounding the scenario and some personal and attitudinal characteristics of the respondents on the responsibility attributed to victims and perpetrators of IPVAW. To achieve this, a factorial survey design in which each respondent (N = 1,007; 51.1% women) received a unique vignette describing a hypothetical case of IPVAW was implemented in an online survey conducted in Spain. We found that most respondents (78.9%) indicated that the victim was not at all responsible for her own victimisation, whereas 73.7 per cent indicated that the perpetrator was very responsible for his own behaviour. Our results also show the prominent role that attitudes, as opposed to many characteristics of the abuse, play in evaluations of victim blame (that is, sexist beliefs and acceptability of IPVAW). Our findings reveal some persistence of victim-blaming attitudes despite years of public awareness and education efforts in Spain.

The ethnic penalty in welfare deservingness: A factorial survey experiment on welfare chauvinism in pension attitudes in Germany

This study investigates whether pensioners with a foreign ethnic background are perceived as less deserving to receive a pension than are native pensioners. It focuses on Germany as an example with a strongly achievement-oriented social insurance system which closely links benefits to previous contributions. Hence, the system prevents a citizen from receiving benefits without having contributed. Our study thus adds to existing research by examining a less likely case to find welfare chauvinistic attitudes. To test our expectations, we rely on a factorial survey design and a probability sample of the German population in 2019. Survey respondents decide on the amount of pension benefits that a hypothetical pensioner should receive. Characteristics of the hypothetical pensioner – ethnic background, gender, last income, contribution years, the number of children and other dependents – are randomly varied. Our study finds support for welfare chauvinist attitudes in an achievement-oriented social insurance system. Even for the same achievement, that is, same income, contribution years and number of children, natives grant lower pensions to pensioners with a foreign ethnic background than to natives. Also, even if migrants show the most favourable behaviour (that is, having contributed to the pension system for many years and with a high income), the ethnic penalty in pensions remains significant.

A Comprehensive Picture of Factors Affecting User Willingness to Use Mobile Health Applications

Mobile health (mHealth) applications have become increasingly valuable in preventive healthcare and in reducing the burden on healthcare organizations. The aim of this article is to investigate the factors that influence user acceptance of mHealth apps and identify the underlying structure that shapes users’ behavioral intention. An online study that employed factorial survey design with vignettes was conducted, and a total of 1,669 participants from eight countries across four continents were included in the study. Structural equation modeling was employed to quantitatively assess how various factors collectively contribute to users’ willingness to use mHealth apps. The results indicate that users’ digital literacy has the strongest impact on their willingness to use them, followed by their online habit of sharing personal information. Users’ concerns about personal privacy only had a weak impact. Furthermore, users’ demographic background, such as their country of residence, age, ethnicity, and education, has a significant moderating effect. Our findings have implications for app designers, healthcare practitioners, and policymakers. Efforts are needed to regulate data collection and sharing and promote digital literacy among the general population to facilitate the widespread adoption of mHealth apps.

Judging the Severity of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women: The Role of Situational Factors and Respondents’ Characteristics in Public Opinion

Public perceptions of the severity of intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) play a crucial role in its prevention. This study examines the impact of multiple factors related to the scenario and respondent characteristics on the perceived severity of IPVAW. To achieve this, a factorial survey design was implemented using a non-probability-based sample in Spain ( N = 1007). The results indicate that 90.3% of respondents rated the scenario as severe. The perceived severity was influenced by both the details of the scenario and the characteristics of the respondents. These findings can inform the design of targeted awareness campaigns.

Employees’ perceptions of co-workers’ internal promotion penalties: the role of gender, parenthood and part-time

ABSTRACT Much research has focused on penalties by gender, parenthood and part-time work for hiring processes or wages, but their role for promotions is less clear. This study analyzes perceived chances for internal promotion, using a factorial survey design. Employees in 540 larger German (>100 employees) firms were asked to rate the likelihood of internal promotion for vignettes describing fictitious co-workers who varied in terms of gender, parenthood, working hours as well as age, earnings, qualification, tenure and job performance. Results show that promotion chances are perceived as significantly lower for co-workers who are women (gender penalty), mothers (motherhood penalty) and part-time workers (part-time penalty). Fathers and childless men (co-workers) are not evaluated differently (no fatherhood premium or penalty), and neither does part-time employment seem to be perceived as a double penalty for male co-workers. All three perceived promotion penalties are more pronounced among female employees, mothers and part-time employees. These findings show that employees perceive differential promotion chances for co-workers which indicate actual differences due to discrimination, selective applications or structural dead-ends. Either way, perceived promotion penalties are likely consequential in guiding employee’s application behavior and hence can contribute to the persistence of vertical gender segregation in the labor market.

Employee acceptance of digital monitoring systems while working from home

AbstractDigitalisation and COVID‐19 led to an expansion of remote work arrangements, raising the question of whether and how employers should monitor remote workplaces. However, before the implementation of monitoring methods, it is important to consider employees' acceptance of this approach. Therefore, we contribute to current research on electronic performance monitoring by empirically investigating employees' evaluations of performance monitoring at home. This paper presents an analysis of how certain monitoring technologies for work‐from‐home arrangements are perceived as undesirable and whether other job aspects can compensate for these unattractive monitoring components. Using an experimental factorial survey design, German employees evaluated remote work arrangements with randomly varying characteristics. We show that respondents accept a certain degree of monitoring at home but increasingly reject monitoring systems as they become more invasive. However, in some cases, the negative impact of monitoring at home can be mitigated by certain incentives, such as money or the purpose of monitoring.

Patient factors associated with conveyance decision-making by Emergency Medical Services professionals in patients with a syncope: a cross-sectional factorial survey design

BackgroundThe clinical decision-making of non-conveyance is perceived as complex and difficult by emergency medical services (EMS) professionals. Patients with a transient loss of consciousness (TLOC) based on syncope constitute a significant part of the non-conveyance population. Risk stratification is the basis of the clinical decision-making process by EMS professionals. This risk stratification is based on various patient factors. This study aimed to explore patient factors significantly associated with conveyance decision-making by EMS professionals in patients with a TLOC based on syncope.MethodsA cross-sectional vignette study with a factorial survey design was conducted. Patient factors were derived from the “National Protocol Ambulance Care”, and all possible combinations of these factors and underlying categories were combined, resulting in 256 unique vignettes (2*4*4*4*2 = 256). Patient factors presented either low-risk or high-risk factors for adverse events. Data were collected through an online questionnaire, in which participants received a random sample of 15 vignettes. For each vignette, the respondent indicated whether the patient would need to be conveyed to the emergency department or not. A multilevel logistic regression analysis with stepwise backward elimination was performed to analyse factors significantly associated with conveyance decision-making. In the logistic model, we modelled the probability of non-conveyance.Results110 respondents were included, with 1646 vignettes being assessed. Mean age 45.5 (SD 9.3), male gender 63.6%, and years of experience 13.2 (SD 8.9). Multilevel analysis showed two patient factors contributing significantly to conveyance decision-making: ‘red flags’ and ‘prehospital electrocardiogram (ECG)’. Of these patient factors, three underlying categories were significantly associated with non-conveyance: ‘sudden cardiac death < 40 years of age in family history’ (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.22–0.50; p < 0.001), ‘cardiovascular abnormalities, pulmonary embolism or pulmonary hypertension in the medical history’ (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.43–0.91; p = 0.01), and ‘abnormal prehospital ECG’ (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.41–0.72; p < 0.001).ConclusionSudden cardiac death < 40 years of age in family history, medical history, and abnormal ECG are significantly negatively associated with non-conveyance decision-making by EMS professionals in patients with a TLOC based on syncope. Low-risk factors do not play a significant role in conveyance decision-making.

The Worthwhileness of Immersive Journalism—Taking on an Audience Perspective

ABSTRACT A growing number of studies in journalism research are concerned with the effects of immersive journalism (IJ) on audience perceptions and behaviors. This interest in IJ is logical, because IJ has the potential to become an impactful innovation for the industry. However, we have largely neglected the question of whether audiences want this form of emotional journalism. This study fills this gap and investigates whether people consider IJ worth their while. Using a factorial survey design, we presented a sample of 2000 German citizens with descriptions of an immersive production about protests in Belarus, in which we manipulate the use of inclusive technology (VR vs. AR vs. video), immersive narratives (first person vs. third person), agency (choice of perspective vs. no choice of perspective and control of location vs. no control), and emotionality (positive vs. negative vs. neutral tone). The analyzes reveal that an immersive narrative perspective, control and emotionality do not predict worthwhileness perceptions. However, productions that present people with inclusion and technological agency render this production more worthwhile in the eye of the individual user.

Preferences of people with mild cognitive impairment for physical activity interventions in China: protocol for a discrete choice experiment study

IntroductionExercise interventions are important non-pharmacological interventions for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but patients with MCI have poor compliance and there is no consistent strategy for exercise interventions. Understanding...

Evaluating Professional Misconduct: The Effects of Licensure State and Board Membership

Purpose: By further analysis of a subset of data collected from licensed social workers from six selected states, this article explores the effect of respondents’ licensure state and board membership on their perceptions of professional misconduct vignettes. Methods: Using a simplified factorial survey design, 5,388 licensed social workers evaluated versions of vignettes involving social worker misconduct. Respondents rated the vignettes as serious and important to discipline and assigned sanctions to the vignette they viewed as most troubling. The licensure state was a factor in the seriousness and importance of discipline ratings, board membership less so. Results: Results indicated that some factors involved in misconduct are more relevant than others. Respondents generally agreed on the most troubling vignettes and sanctions appropriate to the action. Conclusions: These results may serve as preliminary support for the formation of national licensure standards and processes.

Examining the effect of religiosity, moral disengagement, personal attribution, comprehension and proximity on juror decision making regarding insanity pleas

Legal attitudes, religion, and attributions relate to insanity defense attitudes and legal decisions in insanity cases. Religious fundamentalism has consistently predicted punitiveness associated with insanity; however, the current research focuses on moral disengagement as an explanatory link in the fundamentalist and insanity chain. Additional exploratory interests examined how defendants’ perceived proximity to jurors might act as a potential moderator. The current study uses factorial survey design to examine the relationships between the variables using a mock jury insanity trial. Results suggest religious fundamentalism is related to harsher verdicts and sentences, and these relationships are mediated by moral disengagement attributions, authoritarian attitudes towards the persons with mental illness, and negative attitudes towards the insanity defense. Based on findings, prosecution and defense should consider moral and religious themes presented in their arguments. Additionally, defendants pleading insanity should be aware of how juror attitudes and biases might affect the trial and verdict processes.

The relevance of social and academic integration for students’ dropout decisions. Evidence from a factorial survey in Germany

ABSTRACT Dropout rates from higher education programmes are high and constitute a problem for both the individual and society as a whole. To effectively develop measures to combat dropout, the reasons why students drop out of higher education need to be understood. Building on Tinto’s integration model, this paper tests the extent to which students’ social and academic integration increases dropout intentions and whether the effect differs by students’ academic family background. A sample of German students in their first year of university studies was presented hypothetical scenarios with varying degrees of academic and social integration (vignettes) and evaluated the likelihood of dropping out under the described conditions. This factorial survey design improves upon previous studies that were unable to separate the ambiguous causal ordering of the relationship. Subsequent multilevel analyses corroborate Tinto’s integration model by revealing that all subdimensions of academic and social integration predict dropout intention, but also show that not all subdimensions are equally important. Cross-level interactions unveil that the effect of academic and social integration largely does not depend on students’ academic family background.

Prejudice in disguise: Which features determine the subtlety of ethnically prejudicial statements?

In current immigration debates ethnic prejudice is often expressed in a subtle manner, which conceals its xenophobic content. However, previous research has only insufficiently examined the specific features that make certain ethnically prejudicial statements subtler, i.e., less readily identifiable as xenophobic, than others. The current study employs an experimental factorial survey design and assesses the subtlety of systematically manipulated prejudicial statements. Our data from a German random population sample (N = 895) indicate that the subtlety of ethnically prejudicial statements is manipulable along the dimensions of topic, linguistic (essentialist) phrasing, and target group: Prejudicial statements that refer to culture, that are phrased weakly essentialistically, and that target Muslims were subtlest, in being evaluated as least xenophobic by the respondents. Moreover, with an increasing internal and a decreasing external motivation to respond without prejudice, individuals reacted more strongly to the variation of the statements’ topic and linguistic phrasing and were thus more sensitive to features determining subtler and more blatant ways of ethnic prejudice expression. These findings contribute to a better understanding of current migration discourses, in demonstrating that the specific manner in which ethnic prejudice is communicated can camouflage the xenophobic nature of a statement, so that it is less readily recognized as prejudicial.

Judgements of health and social care professionals on a child protection referral of an unborn baby: Factorial survey

BackgroundMidwives and children’s services social workers have responsibilities to identify and support pregnant women where there are child protection concerns. Professionals seek to anticipate the risk of harm and initiate interventions to provide support to families. There is little research on how professionals prioritise risk factors and the challenges they face in protecting unborn babies. ObjectiveTo measure the impact of identified risk factors regarding child protection referrals of unborn babies on the professional judgements of midwives and children’s services social workers. MethodsA factorial survey design using vignettes with randomised factors within a standardised structure, administered digitally using Qualtrics software. Participants & settingMidwives (n = 250) and children’s services social workers (n = 88) from one Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland. ResultsOne thousand and ninety-six vignettes were completed by 118 participants. Analysis using multiple regression showed that the risk factors together accounted for 44% of the variance in perceived risk of harm and of the variance on perceived need for a referral. The significant Independent Variables (IVs) in order included: drug use, alcohol use, age, antenatal care attendance, mental wellbeing, domestic violence and the pregnant woman’s childhood experiences. There were no significant differences between midwives and social workers regarding judgements about important risk factors. ConclusionsThis survey provided an ordering of major risk factors influencing decision making to protect an unborn baby from the perspective of experienced social workers and midwives. The study helps professionals in judging the seriousness of risk factors. The interaction effects between risks requires further research.

Event-specific and individual factors impacting college students’ decisions to intervene in a potentially risky scenario

Universities have attempted to address sexual violence on campuses through various prevention programs, including bystander intervention. Unfortunately, the extant literature on bystander intervention has primarily focused on bystander characteristics. Little is known about how situational characteristics affect the likelihood of intervening during sexual violence; yet, these variables have the potential to influence the effectiveness of bystander intervention programs. Using data collected from college students (N = 626) at a single university located in a large Southern metropolitan city, the present study utilizes a factorial survey design to investigate the impact of location, victim/offender sex, and perceptions of alcohol use on self-reported probability of intervention in an ambiguous sexual scenario. Results indicate that participants were more likely to intervene in scenarios that depicted a fraternity-hosted social (vs. on-campus) and less likely when there was a female perpetrator and a male victim. Perceived alcohol use did not impact intervention.

Persuasive location-based messaging to increase store visits: An exploratory study of fashion shoppers

Although it appears increasingly important yet potentially challenging to attract customers to physical stores, location-based messaging, i.e., delivering mobile phone messages using data about the recipient's location when that recipient is near the sender, has been said to enable such attraction. Still, existing studies offer very limited insight into which particular location-based persuasion approach retailers should use. Drawing on persuasion theory, this exploratory study aims to investigate and compare the potential of two discrepant persuasion techniques (scarcity and social proof) to influence customers' experiences and thereby stimulate them to visit the retailer's physical store. A factorial survey design was applied to test the research model. Data were collected from a sample of actual customers of a Dutch fashion retailer (n = 579). The results suggest that scarcity is a more effective persuasion technique in the studied context than social proof; scarcity-focused messages appear to be experienced as more informative, more entertaining and less irritating, seem to be valued more because of this, and are thus more likely to incline customers to visit the store. We discuss these findings and their implications for theory as well as for practice.

Program on high value cost-conscious education in intensive care: Educational program on prediction of outcome and cost awareness on Intensive Care admission

BackgroundIntensive Care (ICU) involves extended and long lasting support of vital functions and organs. However, current training programs of ICU residents mainly focus on extended support of vital functions and barely involve training on cost-awareness and outcome. We incorporated an educational program on high-value cost-conscious care for residents and fellows on our ICU and measured the effect of education.MethodsA cohort study with factorial survey design, in which ICU residents and fellows were asked to evaluate clinical vignettes, was performed on the mixed surgical-medical ICU of the Amsterdam University Medical Centre. Residents were offered an educational program focusing on outcome and costs of ICU care. Before and after the program they filled out a questionnaire, which consisted of 23 vignettes, in which known predictors of outcome of community acquired pneumonia (CAP), pancreatitis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and cardiac arrest were presented, together with varying patient factors (age, body mass index (BMI), acute kidney failure (AKI) and haemato-oncological malignancy). Participants were asked to either admit the patient or estimate mortality.ResultsBMI, haemato-oncological malignancy and severity of pancreatitis were discriminative for admission to ICU in clinical vignettes on pancreatitis and CAP. After education, only severity of pancreatitis was judged as discriminative. Before the intervention only location of cardiac arrest (in- vs out of hospital) was distinctive for mortality, afterwards this changed to presence of haemato-oncological malignancy.ConclusionWe incorporated an educational program on high-value cost-conscious care in the training of ICU physicians. Based on our vignette study, we conclude that the improvement of knowledge of costs and prognosis after this program was limited.

Preferences for Sun Protection With a Self-Monitoring App: Protocol of a Discrete Choice Experiment Study.

BackgroundThe incidence of sun-exposure-related skin conditions, such as melanoma, is a gradually increasing and largely preventable public health problem. Simultaneously, the availability of mobile apps that enable the self-monitoring of health behavior and outcomes is ever increasing. Inevitably, recent years have seen an emerging volume of electronic patient-generated health data (PGHD), as well as their targeted application across primary prevention areas, including sun protection and skin health. Despite their preventive potential, the actual impact of these apps relies on the engagement of health care consumers, who are primarily responsible for recording, sharing, and using their PGHD. Exploring preferences is a key step toward facilitating consumer engagement and ultimately realizing their potential.ObjectiveThis paper describes an ongoing research project that aims to elicit the preferences of health care consumers for sun protection via app-based self-monitoring.MethodsA discrete choice experiment (DCE) will be conducted to explore how healthy consumers choose between two alternative preventive self-monitoring apps. DCE development and attribute selection were built on extensive qualitative work, consisting of the secondary use of a previously conducted scoping review, a rapid review of reviews, 13 expert interviews, and 12 health care consumer interviews, the results of which are reported in this paper. Following D-optimality criteria, a fractional factorial survey design was generated. The final DCE will be administered in the waiting room of a travel clinic, targeting a sample of 200 participants. Choice data will be analyzed with conditional logit and multinomial logit models, accounting for individual participant characteristics.ResultsAn ethics approval was waived by the Ethics Committee Zurich. The study started in September 2019 and estimated data collection and completion is set for January 2020. Five two-level attributes have been selected for inclusion in the DCE, addressing (1) data generation methods, (2) privacy control, (3) data sharing with general practitioner, (4) reminder timing, and (5) costs. Data synthesis, analysis, and reporting are planned for January and February 2020. Results are expected to be submitted for publication by February 2020.ConclusionsOur results will target technology developers, health care providers, and policy makers, potentially offering some guidance on how to design or use sun-protection-focused self-monitoring apps in ways that are responsive to consumer preferences. Preferences are ultimately linked to engagement and motivation, which are key elements for the uptake and success of digital health. Our findings will inform the design of person-centered apps, while also inspiring future preference-eliciting research in the field of emerging and complex eHealth services.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/16087

Hierarchy of the main factors predicting the decision to go to the doctor in a general population sample: A factorial survey design

ObjectiveTo obtain a hierarchy of the main factors that predict the decision to go to the doctor when symptoms are not yet linked to a specific disease. Method64 representative vignettes, combinations of nine factors, were presented to 168 adults between 28–60 years of age. ResultsMultilevel multiple regression models were used to rank the main factors predicting urgency to see a doctor in order of importance: the interference of symptoms in daily activities (B = −1.29; p < .001), fear (B = −0.96; p < .001), pain (B = −0.90; p < .001), access to medical care (B = −0.64; p < .001) and confidence in the doctor (B = −0.27; <.05). Moreover, gender (B = 0.56; p < .05) and educational level (B =−0.31; p < .05) explained part of the interindividual variation in the daily symptoms' interference. ConclusionWhen a specific disease has not yet been diagnosed, daily symptoms' interference is the factor that most strongly increases the urgency to visit a doctor, especially among men and among people with a higher level of education. Practice implicationsTo reduce delay, generic health prevention campaigns should place more emphasis on possible interference in daily activities than on the meaning of symptoms for health.

PND76 ROLE OF MESSAGE FRAMING AND INVOLVEMENT ON INTENTION TO ENGAGE IN PREVENTIVE BEHAVIORS FOR COGNITIVE HEALTH MAINTENANCE

National organizations have highlighted the importance of effective communication in disseminating information about maintenance of cognitive health and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. Based on psychosocial research concerning influence of message-framing and involvement (e.g., personal risk factors) on perceptions, judgements, and decisions towards preventive behaviors, the current study aimed at evaluating the effect of these factors on intention to engage in preventive behaviors for cognitive health maintenance. An experimental, cross-sectional factorial survey design was used to construct an online survey based on protection motivation theory (PMT). Message-framing (positive-framing and negative-framing) and involvement (Low and High) were the primary independent variables and PMT constructs of perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, response-efficacy, self-efficacy and intention to engage in recommended preventive behaviors were the dependent variables, all measured on a 7-point Likert scale. Structural equation modeling was used for model testing. Reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, ANCOVA and multiple linear regression were performed using SAS® version 9.2 at a priori significance level of 0.05. A total of 368 completed surveys were obtained. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated that involvement had a significant positive association with perceived severity (p=0.0478), perceived vulnerability (p=0.0318) and intention (p=0.0001). Message framing had a significant positive association with perceived severity (p=0.0041) and perceived vulnerability (p=0.0007) but a negative association with self-efficacy (p=0.002). Path analysis indicated that message-framing had an indirect negative effect on intention. The study results indicated that higher involvement (personal risk factors) has a positive effect on PMT constructs towards improving engagement in preventive behaviors for cognitive health. Message-framing had a positive effect on perceived severity and vulnerability, negative effect on self-efficacy and a negative indirect effect on intention. The results highlight the importance of increasing awareness about personal risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and using appropriate message-framing in developing educational materials for cognitive health.