Abstract: Influencing Help-Seeking for Depression with Public Service Announcements: An Examination of Message Sidedness and Functional Matching (Society for Prevention Research 24th Annual Meeting)

614 Influencing Help-Seeking for Depression with Public Service Announcements: An Examination of Message Sidedness and Functional Matching

Schedule:
Friday, June 3, 2016
Bayview A (Hyatt Regency San Francisco)
* noted as presenting author
Brianna A. Lienemann, Ph.D., Research Associate, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA
Jason Siegel, PhD, Associate Professor, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA
Unlike physical illnesses, the severity of depressive symptomatology is negatively associated with help-seeking. This set of studies examined message sidedness and functional matching as means of influencing the effectiveness of depression public service announcements (D-PSAs) seeking to increase help-seeking. Message sidedness refers to whether a message is one-sided (i.e., supportive statements), nonrefutational two-sided (i.e., supportive statements and counterarguments), and refutational two-sided (i.e., supportive statements, counterarguments, and refutational statements). Functional matching refers to addressing the target attitude’s psychological motivation in a persuasive communication. The current set of studies focused on two types of attitude functions in regards to help-seeking for depression. A social-adjustive attitude function is the motivation to maintain one’s social relationships, while an object-appraisal function is the motivation to determine if an object has favorable or unfavorable implications. Two online MTurk studies were completed with U.S. adults. Study 1 participants (N = 1142) were randomly assigned to view print message-sidedness D-PSAs or a control. Refutational messages were more effective at increasing help-seeking attitudes and intentions toward interpersonal sources for individuals with elevated depressive symptomatology than control messages. Study 2 participants (N = 567) with mild to severe depressive symptomatology were randomly assigned to view video message-sidedness by attitude function D-PSAs or control messages. Functionally matched D-PSAs were more effective than mismatched D-PSAs and control messages. Even though one-sided and refutational matched D-PSAs were similarly associated with positive help-seeking outcomes, refutational mismatched D-PSAs were associated with more negative help-seeking outcomes than one-sided mismatched D-PSAs and control messages. Both Studies 1 and 2 found that negative cognitions toward D-PSAs mediated the relationship between depressive symptomatology and the help-seeking outcomes. Depressive symptomatology was associated with more negative cognitions, which was in turn, associated with more negative help-seeking outcomes. Ineffective D-PSAs (e.g., Study 2 mismatched D-PSAs) can bolster the negative effects of depressive symptomatology on help-seeking, while effective D-PSAs (e.g., Study 1 refutational D-PSAs and Study 2 matched D-PSAs) can initiate the help-seeking process. Help-seeking for depression can lead to improved symptomatology, a better quality of life, and reduced likelihood of suicide.