Date of Award

Summer 2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology and Behavioral Sciences

First Advisor

Walter Buboltz

Abstract

The college years are often depicted as a time of immense change, specifically in relation to college students' level of nutrition and sleep quality. However, these health concerns not only impact college students' health but also their academic performance, mood, and as a result their future. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether technologically enhanced health messages are more effective than the traditional text format for creating healthy behavioral changes amongst college students. Secondly, the study provides the opportunity to examine previous research involving message framing, specifically, regulatory focus theory and self-efficacy, in order to provide further evidence in relation to the most effective way to frame sleep hygiene and nutrition laden information. The "frame" of a health message refers to whether the message emphasizes the benefits of performing a behavior (gain frame) or the costs of not engaging in a specific behavior (loss frame). After reading two framed messages, one related to sleep hygiene and another related to nutrition, participants rated the extent to which they agreed with the messages as well as how persuasive they found the messages to be. Results indicated no significant findings, however, clinical and theoretical implications are discussed, as well as considerations for future research.

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