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Episodic future thinking and compassion reduce non-compliance urges regarding public health guidelines : a randomised controlled trial
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van Baal, Simon T., Verdejo-García, Antonio and Hohwy, Jakob (2023) Episodic future thinking and compassion reduce non-compliance urges regarding public health guidelines : a randomised controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 23 (1). 189. doi:10.1186/s12889-023-15031-0 ISSN 1471-2458.
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WRAP-Episodic-future-thinking-and-compassion-reduce-non-compliance-urges-regarding-public-health-guidelines-van-Baal-2023.pdf - Published Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Download (1319Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15031-0
Abstract
Background
People often feel urges to engage in activities that violate pandemic public health guidelines. Research on these urges has been reliant on measures of typical behaviour, which fail to capture these urges as they unfold. Guideline adherence could be improved through interventions, but few methods allow for ecologically valid observation of the range of behaviours that pandemic guidelines prescribe.
Methods
In this preregistered parallel randomised trial, 95 participants aged 18–65 from the UK were assigned to three groups using blinded block randomisation, and engaged in episodic future thinking (n = 33), compassion exercises (n = 31), or a control procedure (n = 31). Following an ecological momentary assessment procedure, participants report on the intensity of their occurrent urges (min. 1, max. 10) and their ability to control them. The study further investigates whether, and through which mechanism, state impulsivity and vaccine attitudes affect guideline adherence.
Results
Episodic future thinking (b = -1.80) and compassion exercises (b = -1.45) reduced the intensity of urges. State impulsivity is associated with stronger urges, but we found no evidence that vaccine hesitancy predicts lesser self-control.
Conclusions
We conclude that episodic future thinking exercises and compassion training may be used to decrease non-compliance urges of individuals who are an acute public health risk for the community, such as those in voluntary isolation.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||||||
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Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine R Medicine > RC Internal medicine |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology | ||||||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Impulsive personality , Impulse , Episodic memory , Compassion , Self-control , Pandemics -- Psychological aspects, Public health | ||||||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | BMC Public Health | ||||||||||||
Publisher: | BioMed Central Ltd. | ||||||||||||
ISSN: | 1471-2458 | ||||||||||||
Official Date: | 28 January 2023 | ||||||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 23 | ||||||||||||
Number: | 1 | ||||||||||||
Number of Pages: | 10 | ||||||||||||
Article Number: | 189 | ||||||||||||
DOI: | 10.1186/s12889-023-15031-0 | ||||||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 7 March 2023 | ||||||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 8 March 2023 | ||||||||||||
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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