Tailoring Messages to Individual Differences in Monitoring-Blunting Styles to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake
Abstract
Objective
To examine whether messages matched to individuals' monitoring-blunting coping styles (MBCS) are more effective in increasing fruit and vegetable intake than mismatched messages. MBCS refers to the tendency to either attend to and amplify, or distract oneself from and minimize threatening information.
Design/Setting
Randomly assigned messages were tailored to resonate with either monitors or blunters and delivered at baseline, 1 week, 2 months, and 3 months later. Surveys were conducted at baseline and 2 and 4 months later.
Participants
531 callers to a cancer information hotline who did not meet the 5 A Day guideline.
Intervention
A brief telephone-delivered message and 3 mailings of booklets and promotional items encouraging fruit and vegetable intake, tailored for either monitors or blunters.
Main Outcome Measure
Fruit and vegetable intake 2 and 4 months post-baseline.
Analysis
Hierarchical regression modeling.
Results
Messages matched to MBCS were more effective than mismatched messages, particularly for the monitor message, in increasing intake at 2 months but not at 4 months.
Conclusions and Implications
These minimal interventions influenced fruit and vegetable intake. MBCS may be a promising target for developing tailored messages aimed at increasing intake, although additional research is needed to verify the robustness of these findings.
1Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT
2RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC
3School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
4Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ
5National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service, Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, CT
Address for correspondence: Dr. Pamela Williams-Piehota, RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Rd, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194; Phone: (919) 316-3936; Fax: (919) 541-7384
Address for reprint requests: Dr. Peter Salovey, Department of Psychology, P.O. Box 208205, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8205; Phone: (203) 432-2902; Fax: (203) 432-2161
Continuing Education Questionnaire available at www.sne.org/ Meets Learning Need Codes for RDs and DTRs 5150, 6020, and 6030.
Research reported in this article was funded by the National Cancer Institute through a grant to Peter Salovey (R01-CA68427) and a contract to the Yale Cancer Center (NO2-CO-01002-75).
ABSTRACT