1. Goal Setting Moderates Behavior Change Outcomes in College Students After an Online Health Coaching Intervention.
- Author
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Horvath, Linnea M., Burns, Ryan D., Brusseau, Timothy A., Bai, Yang, Lucero, Julie E., and King Jensen, Jessica L.
- Subjects
RESEARCH funding ,STRESS management ,HUMAN beings ,STATISTICAL sampling ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,GOAL (Psychology) ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,CHI-squared test ,SURVEYS ,ODDS ratio ,LONGITUDINAL method ,ONLINE education ,HEALTH behavior ,PSYCHOLOGY of college students ,CONFIDENCE intervals ,DATA analysis software ,PHYSICAL activity - Abstract
Background: Health coaching sessions that incorporate goal setting may help improve college students' health behaviors. Purpose: This study examined whether specific goal-setting practices moderated changes in health behaviors during an online wellness intervention in college students. Methods: Participants were 90 college students recruited from one US university. The intervention was a one-hour virtual one-on-one health coaching session where participants set two goals for either physical activity (Metabolic Equivalent Task (MET)-minutes or MET-minutes), nutrition, sleep, or stress management. Self-reported baseline behaviors were collected, and follow-up surveys were completed at 6- and 12-weeks. Mixed effects models examined behavior change outcomes across the follow-up timepoints while testing the moderating effect of goal setting using interactions. Results: The Goal×Time interaction was significant for moderate MET-minutes at 1
st follow-up (b = 443, p =.003), and for total MET-minutes at the 2nd follow-up (b = 717, p =.047). The Goal×Time interaction was also significant for stress management at 1st follow-up (Odds Ratio = 7.3, p =.042). Discussion: Participants who set physical activity and stress management goals had significantly higher physical activity and utilized more stress management techniques. Translation to Health Education Practice: The use of specific goal-setting strategies for physical activity and stress management is recommended during online health coaching sessions. A AJHE Self-Study quiz is online for this article via the SHAPE America Online Institute (SAOI) . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2024
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