Program Proposal

Program Proposal

Obesity predisposes individuals to an increased risk for morbidity, disabilities, mortality and a tremendous healthcare burden (Brown, Gotshalk, Katzmarzyk, & Allen, 2011). In the Native Hawaiian population, the rapid increase in rates of obesity suggest rather than biological or genetic changes, this increase can be attributed to changes in health behaviors (Hill & Peters, 1998). Health behaviors are changeable, although the complexity of overweight and obesity should not be understated. Obesity and obesity-related diseases and conditions are prevalent in the Native Hawaiian population, partly because of behavioral components, but also because of a genetic predisposition to overweight and obesity (Brown et al., 2011). Although Hawaii as a whole, does not have higher rates of overweight and obesity and related disorders than the American population, Native Hawaiians (who make up only 10-11% of the Hawaiian population) are at a higher risk of chronic and other conditions related to obesity (Brown et al., 2011). The goal of this proposal is to create a culturally sensitive weight management program for Native Hawaiian women that considers their biological, psychological, and social aspects of being overweight or obese. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) is utilized as a parameter for this program. Further, the anticipated challenges to the program are discussed.

Target Population

The target population for this program is Native Hawaiian women. Although the problem with overweight and obesity in Native Hawaiians is not exclusive to women or adults, this program is designed specifically for adult Native Hawaiian women. More than 62% of Native Hawaiian women are overweight, 34% of whom are severely overweight (Aluli, 1991; Mau et al., 1997). Hawaiian women have experienced an increase in insulin resistance (Mau, Grandinetti, Arakaki, & Chang, 1997), an increase in kidney disease (Mau, West, Shara, Efird, Alimineti, Saito, & ... Ng, 2007), and a significant increase in overweight and obesity (Brown et al., 2011). Further, this population has seen an escalation in many chronic diseases as well as a risk for breast cancer (Maskarinec, Zhang, Takata, Pagano, Shumay, Goodman, ... and Kolonel, 2006). Overweight, obesity, alcohol consumption, and nulliparity have risen alongside this increase in breast cancer (Maskarinec et al., 2006). Although all of these factors represent changeable health behaviors that deserve attention, this proposal focuses on overweight and obesity in Native Hawaiian women.

Addressing a Need

Obesity continues to increase in the Native Hawaiian population. Hawaiians are at a greater risk of dying earlier than White Americans because of chronic conditions such as diabetes and obesity. Mental illness and substance abuse in youth contribute to their early demise as well (Park, 2010). Native Hawaiians are almost twice as likely as Whites to die from heart disease, and three times more likely to receive a diagnosis of chronic heart disease (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS), 2010). Further, the frequency of high blood pressure is 70 percent higher in Native Hawaiians than in Whites (State of Hawaii, 2010; USDHHS, 2010). At this time, no culturally sensitive weight management programs designed for Native Hawaiian women exist in the Hawaiian archipelagos.

In exploring the cognitive and behavioral components of overweight and obesity in this population, research suggests stressors (specifically, discrimination) for this indigenous population may contribute to negative health behaviors that provoke weight gain (Agosto, 2011; McCubbin & Antonio, 2012). Of all ethnicities living in Hawaii, Hawaiians have the lowest incomes, the least education, and the highest level of social problems and health issues (Mokuau & Matsuoka, 1995). Although a paucity of research exists regarding these issues, McCubbin and Antonio (2010) found a connection between overt discrimination and body mass index scores for a sample of Native Hawaiians. This research suggests that an effective weight management program for Native Hawaiian women must also include teaching coping mechanisms to relieve the psychosocial stress of discrimination and cognitive strategies to increase self-esteem and reduce other psychological aspects of overweight and obesity (Agosto, 2011).

The Program

The program is a culture-oriented weight awareness and management program, sensitive to the needs of Native Hawaiian women. Utilizing the parameter of the transtheoretical model of health behavior change, this program aims to create an awareness of cultural tendencies for food consumption and its effects on the Hawaiian population. Additionally, the program will address and treat the effects of overt discrimination on weight gain in this population, and teach effective coping strategies to manage this stressor unique to the indigenous Hawaiian population (McCubbin & Antonio, 2010). Furthermore, it will incorporate strategies that aim to change self-esteem, body image, and attitudes toward food that have been previously successful in establishing weight loss in Native Hawaiian women (Agosto, 2012).

Neel (1962) suggested that Native Hawaiians developed a culturally specific, highly efficient metabolism because of their geographically isolated location that may have predisposed them to limited resources and the need for biological efficiency. This theory was partly based on research that determined an association between an increased tendency toward obesity and a higher percentage of Hawaiian ancestry (Grandinetti, Chang, Chen, Fujimoto, Rodriguez, & Curb, 1999; Neil, 1962). The program described herein will utilize research guidelines that suggested when Hawaiians returned to their pre-Western contact diet, they lost weight and were healthier, with lower serum cholesterol and blood pressure (Shintani, Hughes, Beckam & O'Connor, 1991). The proposed weight management program is holistic because it addresses biological, psychological, and social aspects of weight loss in Native Hawaiian women, and culturally sensitive because it increases awareness of factors exclusive to weight gain in this diverse population. It combines a culture-appropriate diet and seeks to resolve culture-specific psychological issues.

The Transtheoretical Model
The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavior change provides a parameter for understanding the process of change that will occur over the course of the biopsychosocial weight management program for Native Hawaiian women. The TTM emphasizes the behavioral processes aligned with attitude and awareness change and readiness to change (Glanz, Rimer, & Viswanath, 2008). Central to the TTM is the belief that emotional attitudes and beliefs change with increased awareness and understanding, and this process is the antecedent to change. Further, it explains that individuals cannot make durable behavior changes, until they are cognitively ready to change (Glanz et al., 2008; Rossi, 2004). An important consideration in utilizing the TTM in relation to the biopsychosocial weight management program for Native Hawaiian women is the exclusively cultural factors associated with weight gain in this population. Without embracing all of these factors, and creating awareness in each individual, weight management may not be effective or successful for these women. The TTM accounts for individual variation of cultural embeddedness as well as other contextual circumstances such as an increased awareness of discrimination, and stress related to cultural issues as explained above. Brug (2004) found tailored interventions, such as those accommodated by the TTM, are more effective and promote a higher rate of durable change. The TTM takes into account individuals' readiness to understand, prior to engaging in their education. It theorizes that individuals cannot take action until they are cognitively ready to understand what is involved in making change (Glanz et al., 2008).

Anticipating Challenges

Although this program is designed to affect the various and complex issues of weight management effectively, challenges should be anticipated. One of the primary issues is the sizeable task of increasing self-esteem. Because this issue is inherent in obese and overweight Native Hawaiian women, it must be addressed and at least, partly mitigated, with the hope of continuing to resolve this issue longitudinally. Self-esteem issues do not develop in a vacuum, and it is understandable and expected that resolving such powerful and wholly pervasive psychological issues are far more difficult to resolve in an environment in which personal variables cannot be controlled.

In the action stage of the TTM, the women would have decided to take action against their food consumption habits and their self-perceptions. However, although individuals may be vigilant, they may revert to past behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs (Glanz et al., 2008). Similarly, in the maintenance stage, the women must continue to maintain vigilance against cultural and contextual tendencies, although at this stage their resolve has been strengthened and new and healthier patterns continue to be implemented (Glanz et al., 2008). Psychological cues, such as overt discrimination and the Hawaiian cultural tendency to use food as a social communication, will continue to plague these women, and they should be advised that their changes in health behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes are an ongoing journey.

Another challenge to this program is in its culturally sensitive delivery. Because Hawaiians continue to experience low socioeconomic status, far less education, and a higher level of social and psychological issues than other ethnicities in Hawaii, the experience of discrimination is common, and many harbor anger toward other ethnicities, but especially the White citizens of Hawaii. It will be important to engage Native Hawaiian women as facilitators, speakers, and teachers in the program. For program facilitators not of Hawaiian descent, cultural competency training will be critical to the facilitator's success as well as the success of the program (Kamaka, Paloma, & Maskarinec, (2011).

Conclusion
Although overweight and obesity is a complex issue for any population or individual, Native Hawaiian women face biological, psychological, and social factors idiosyncratic to their indigenous culture. The program described herein aims to guide Native Hawaiian women toward an appropriate weight management plan that accommodates the biological, psychological, and social implications of being a Native Hawaiian woman. The program relates to the stages of change described in the TTM and utilizes awareness as a key factor in implementing durable change in food consumption as well as other aspects of this program's weight management. The most significant aspects of this program is that it is culturally sensitive toward Hawaiian women and considers individuals' readiness for change.

References

Agosto, J. T. (2012). The psychological effects of obesity in Native Hawaiian women. Dissertation Abstracts International, 72,

Aluli, N. E. (1991). Prevalence of obesity in a Native Hawaiian population. The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc. Retrieved from http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/53/6/1556S.

Antonio, M. K., & Mccubbin, L. D. (2012). Relationship Between Discrimination and Obesity Among Native Hawaiians. Washington, District of Columbia, US: American Psychological Association (APA).

Brug, J. (2004). The Transtheoretical Model and stages of change: A critique: Observations by five Commentators on the paper by Adams, J. and White, M. (2004) Why don't stage- based activity promotion interventions work? Health Education Research, 20(2), 244- 258. doi: 10.1093/her/cyh005

Brown, D. E., Gotshalk, L. A., Katzmarzyk, P. T., & Allen, L. (2011). Measures of adiposity in two cohorts of Hawaiian school children. Annals Of Human Biology, 38(4), 492-499. doi:10.3109/03014460.2011.560894

Glanz, K., Rimer, B. K., & Viswanath, K. (Eds.). (2008). Health behavior and health education: Theory, research, and practice (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Grandinetti, A., Chang, H., Chen, R., Fujimoto, W., Rodriguez, B., & Curb, J. (1999). Prevalence of overweight and central adiposity is associated with percentage of indigenous ancestry among native Hawaiians. International Journal Of Obesity And Related Metabolic Disorders: Journal Of The International Association For The Study Of Obesity, 23(7), 733-737.

Hill, J. O., Peters, J. C. (1998). Environmental contributions to the obesity epidemic. Science 280, 1371– 1374.

Kamaka, M., Paloma, D., & Maskarinec, G. (2011). Recommendations for medical training: a Native Hawaiian patient perspective. Hawaii Medical Journal, 70(11 Suppl 2), 20-24.

Maskarinec, G., Zhang, Y., Takata, Y., Pagano, I., Shumay, D., Goodman, M., & ... Kolonel, L. (2006). Trends of breast cancer incidence and risk factor prevalence over 25 years. Breast Cancer Research And Treatment, 98(1), 45-55.

Mau, M. K., Grandinetti, A., Arakaki, R. F., & Chang, H. K. (1997). The insulin resistance syndrome in Native Hawaiians. Diabetes Care, 20(9), 1376-80. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/223041707?accountid=14872

Mau, M. K., West, M. R., Shara, N. M., Efird, J. T., Alimineti, K., Saito, E., & ... Ng, R. (2007). Epidemiologic and clinical factors associated with Chronic Kidney Disease among Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians. Ethnicity & Health, 12(2), 111-127. doi:10.1080/13557850601081720

McCubbin, L., & Antonio, M. (2012). Discrimination and obesity among Native Hawaiians. Hawai'i Journal Of Medicine & Public Health: A Journal Of Asia Pacific Medicine & Public Health, 71(12), 346-352.

Park, A. (2010). Lab Report. Time, 176(14), 20.

Rossi, J. (2004). Transtheoretical model of behavior change. In N. Anderson (Ed.), Encyclopedia of health and behavior. (pp. 719-722). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781412952576.n211

Shintani, T., Hughes, C., Beckham, S., & O'Connor, H. (1991). Obesity and cardiovascular risk intervention through the ad libitum feeding of traditional Hawaiian diet. The American

Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, 53(6 Suppl), 1647S-1651S.

State of Hawaii. (2010). The burden of cardiovascular disease in Hawaii 2007. State of Hawaii, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from http://hawaii.gov/health/statistics/brfss/reports/CVDBurden_Rpt2007.pdf

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2010). Heart disease and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders. The Office of Minority Health. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/content.aspx?lvl=3

Weight Loss Program for Parents and Children

This program might be useful for children and parents because it involves parents and children together and has the potential to address issues and challenges within the parent/child relationship.

Bricker, Rajan, Zalewski, Anderson, Ramey and Peterson (2009) found parent-noncompliance had a strong negative influence on children's success. If parents become noncompliant, it is unlikely the children will maintain compliance. Perhaps ongoing parent support groups meeting once per month would help maintain inspiration that the parents will pass on to their children. Sharing parental experiences with the program may be beneficial to all. Since the parent-child relationship has a tremendous influence on children (Bricker, Rajan, Zalewski, Anderson, Ramey, & Peterson, 2009) this program may be valuable in teaching parents and children to work toward a goal together. This experience may have a positive effect on their ability to continue to work together to maintain compliance over the long-term.

Looking at the family context may be beneficial with weight loss programs. Identifying and understanding the family's narrative truth is central to addressing the complex issues of childhood obesity (Grønbæk, 2008). Because it is well-established that overweight and obesity is the result of unhealthy diet and insufficient exercise, these narratives are dubious and might benefit from being identified and modified (Grønbæk, 2008). The program was designed to include parents and children. This may help families correct their shared narrative of how overweight and obesity has become characteristic of one or more family members. Grønbæk (2008) explains when families believe they have control of making changes in family overweight and obesity, they are more likely to be successful in weight management over the long-term. It may be beneficial to guide families toward taking control and understanding their part in weight management.

Children need the full emotional support from parents (Grønbæk, 2008), and this program directly involves parents in becoming educated about overweight and obesity alongside their children. It would be important to address appropriate parent psychological support, and teach what works, and what does not, when trying to inspire children to maintain a weight loss program. The complexity of family relationships may be challenging, and it is important for parents to understand the ambiguity of messages they send to their children unknowingly, especially those messages that derive from established family narratives (Grønbæk, 2008).

Another challenge will be for children to maintain compliance over the long-term. According to the Theory of Triadic Influence, the influences of parents and friends on children are powerful (Bricker et al., 2009). After completing the program, the children will, at some point, be exposed to a social environment unfriendly to their goals. For example, when children visit a friend's home and the parent offers a sweet treat that does not comply with the child's eating plan, ordinarily, he or she will choose to eat the treat anyway, because the friend is eating it. Bricker et al., (2009) found teaching behavior regulating skills to adolescents at risk for noncompliance. To increase compliance with issues related to the negative influence of friends, children may benefit from learning skills that enable them to make decisions independent of their friend's choices (Bricker, Rajan, Zalewski, Anderson, Ramey, & Peterson, 2009).

For the children, it may be beneficial to add socialization programs that enable the children to build lasting supportive relationships that will provide a positive influence for decision-making related to food consumption choices, but it will also provide a peer support network. Peer influence weilds tremendous power on decision making, especially during adolescence, so emphasizing this type of relationship-building may help children succeed (Jaccard, Blanton, & Dodge, 2005; Thorlindsson & Bernburg, 2006).

In the management of chronic illness, more positive outcomes are likely when parents collaborate with children regarding decision making for their care, whether or not the children made the ultimate decision (Miller, 2009). Applying this concept to the weight loss program, children may be more likely to eventually make correct decisions about their exercise and food consumption habits if children become stakeholders and decision makers in matters relating to weight management. Considering this, the program could include educating the parents and children on collaborative decision making that includes practice scenarios in which they could become accustomed to sharing in this process. The process of shared decision making may combat rebelliousness that may at some point become a challenge to children's compliance.

References

Bricker, J. B., Rajan, K. B., Zalewski, M., Andersen, M. R., Ramey, M., & Peterson, A.V. (2009). Psychological and social risk factors in adolescent smoking transitions: A population-based longitudinal study. Health Psychology, 28(4), 439–447. doi:10.1037/a0014568

Grønbæk, H. N. (2008) "We’ve always eaten healthily": Family narratives about causes of their child’s obesity and the motivation for taking action. Nordic Psychology, 60(3), 183–208.

Jaccard, J., Blanton, H. & Dodge, T. (2005). Peer influences on risk behavior: An analysis of the effects of a close friend. Developmental Psychology, 41(1), 135–147.

Miller, V. A. (2009). Parent-child collaborative decision making for the management of chronic illness: A qualitative analysis. Families, Systems, & Health, 27(3), 249–266. doi: doi:10.1037/a0017308

Thorlindsson, T., & Bernburg, J. G. (2006). Peer groups and substance use: Examining the direct and interactive effect of leisure activity. Adolescence, 41(162), 321–339.

Wilson, D. K., Van Horn, M., Kitzman-Ulrich, H., Saunders, R., Pate, R., Lawman, H. G., ... Brown, P. V. (2011). Results of the "Active by Choice Today" (ACT) randomized trial for increasing physical activity in low-income and minority adolescents. Health Psychology, 30(4), 463–471.

Survey Designs et al.

Designs

Surveys gather opinions or attitudes that can be analyzed to gain a general consensus, whereas experiments manipulate variables to produce an outcome, outcomes, or no outcome (Creswell, 2009). Both survey and experimental strategies of inquiry indentify characteristics of a sample and generalize to a wider populations, although the goal of the experimental design is to test how a treatment or intervention affects outcomes in a controlled setting, although not necessarily within a laboratory. The goal of experimental designs is usually to establish how variables are related. This can be accomplished by applying different variables to one group and not to a control group (Creswell, 2009). In a survey, researchers would not manipulate variables as they would in an experimental design .

For example, If I were attempting to identify attitudes of Japanese women recently integrated into the majority American culture, I would utilize a survey method. If I sought to determine the effects of American culture on newly integrated Japanese women who participated in an orientation class specifically designed for Japanese women, I would utilize an experimental design. In the experimental design, I would have an experimental group (the group that took the class) and a control group (the group that did not take the class). Experimental designs have the potential to answering cause and effect questions, however, a survey does not have that potential (Creswell, 2009).

Populations, Samples, and Participants

In a survey design, a population of interest is chosen by the researcher, and its characteristics described (size, gender, and other descriptive information). Similar information is needed for participants in an experimental design. Both can use randomly chosen individuals, however an experimental design considers statistical significance as well as the effect size when determining the size of a group studied.

Instrumentation, Variables, Data Analysis and Interpretation, and Experimental Procedures

In an experimental design, one or more groups of participants receive the independent variable or variables, and the control group does not. Variables in a survey design may be related to specific questions on the survey or questionnaire. In survey designs, the researcher reports the number of responders and non-responders. Further this type of research design must discuss response bias and provide information on the descriptive analysis utilized for the variables.

Both designs utilize a variety of statistical analyses to interpret and make inferences about the population characteristics or relationships between treatment and control groups. Both rely on inferential and descriptive statistics whereas . In the survey design, the primary instrument or means of collecting data is the survey or questionnaire, whereas in the experimental design, data is collected by observing the treatment group(s) as compared to the control group, and taking measurements at specified times during the experiment, (e.g., pre-test and/or post-test). Different from the survey design that utilizes the survey or questionnaire as its process of inquiry, experimental designs require the identification and description of procedures utilized as well as the rationale for the choice of procedures.

Reliability and Validity

In a survey design, it is important to prevent bias and confusion by using carefully chosen wording. Shortcomings in survey design include the challenge of obtaining the depth of information needed from a survey. Further, the survey relies on self-report, which has inherent shortcomings as well. Bowling (2005) found individuals provide answers to questions according to their immediate environment and transient emotional states. Although experiments are best evidence of causality, they have shortcomings as well. For example, some experiments are not possible and in many circumstances, individuals cannot be assigned to one group or another. In experimental designs, external and internal issues may threaten the validity of the experiment. These issues can occur as a result of participant characteristics or flaws in other aspect of the study (methods, measurements, inaccurate inferences and others). These threats must be identified, explained, and mitigated, when possible. Reliability and validity are cornerstones of scientific investigation. In empirical research, they provide a level of usability and practical application (Whiston, 2009). Without reliability and validity, research is of no consequence.

Terminology

Experiments measure relationships and use words such as causation, control, and variability, confounding variables, placebo, participants, pre-test, post-test, and procedures, whereas survey designs use the words and concepts of population, response bias, samples, questionnaire, survey, target populations, samples, scales, choice, open and closed-ended questions (Creswell, 2009; Whiston, 2009). Health psychology seems to utilize quantitative methods as well as qualitative methods.

References

Bowling, A. (2005). Mode of questionnaire administration can have serious effects on data quality. Journal of Public Health, 27(3), 281-291. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdi031

Creswell, J. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Whiston, S. C. (2009). Principles and applications of assessment in counseling (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.

Pilot test of Project CHOICE: A voluntary afters chool intervention for middle school youth.

This was a summative evaluation undertaken to measure outcomes of the program and its success (Spaulding, 2008). It includes outcomes, gathered quantitative data, and uses statistical analysis to determine that the participants reported a decrease in their substance use as well as their perceptions of friends' alcohol and marijuana use.

Several objectives exist in a typical evaluation: documenting activities, documenting program implementation, documenting outputs of activities, and documenting end outcomes (Spaulding, 2008). The evaluation of this program will help determine how best to proceed with other similar programs, how to make this one more effective, or serve as a parameter for other programs. Further, this evaluation may contribute to the generation of a new theory on volunteer participant interventions for this age group (Glasgow & Linnen, 2008). Because the program being evaluated is seminal in its voluntary participation, rather than based on an established theory, this evaluation is likely to generate new thoughts on this type of program (Glasgow & Linnen, 2008).

Through an evaluation of this intervention for adolescents, the program might be made more effective by changing the amount of time the adolescents spent in the program. For example, if a significant number of students dropped out of the program because the duration of each session was excessive, or because the duration of the program was too lengthy, these aspects could be altered to keep the participants in the program (Glasgow & Linnen, 2008). Additionally, the program could be improved by identifying effective ways of eliciting a better response to the program (getting more students to participate) (Glasgow & Linnen, 2008). Glasgow and Linnen (2008) further suggest that the evaluation of theory-based programs or interventions can contribute to making them more effective for more individuals and create new knowledge or theories.

Although D'Amico, Anderson, Metrik, Frissell, Ellingstad, & Brown (2006) found interventions designed with the input of the intended population creates a more diverse and generalizeable intervention, I would like to have seen the specific results of the various ethnicities and genders of participants. For example, if a higher percentage of girls were affected by the program, I would want to discover how to improve the program to more effectively affect the boys. Similarly, if Latinos were less affected than Whites or vice versa, I would want to improve the program so it would be effective cross-culturally. Further, I would like to know if the program would be effective in a Latino or other diverse population, so these demographics are valuable. A program that is effective for a 41% White and a 30% Latino population does not necessarily mean the same program would be effective in a 100% Latino population.

If the overall character of the volunteer participants was not reflective of the general population (46% male, 41%White, 30% Latino, 5% Pacific Islender/Asian American, 4% African American, and 15% mixed ethnicities) (D'Amico & Edelen, 2007), I would want to modify the program so it would attract relatively equal shares of ethnicities and both genders.

References

D’Amico, E. J., & Edelen, M. O. (2007). Pilot test of Project CHOICE: A voluntary afterschool intervention for middle school youth. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21(4), 592–598.

American Psychological Association. (2009). Criteria for the evaluation of quality improvement programs and the use of quality improvement data. American Psychologist, 64(6), 551–557.

D’Amico, E. J., Anderson, K. G., Metrik, J., Frissell, K. C., Ellingstad, T., & Brown, S. A. (2006). Adolescent self-selection of service formats: Implications for secondary interventions targeting alcohol use. American Journal on Addictions, 15, 58–66

Glasgow, R. E. & Linnan, L. A. (2008). Chapter 21, Evaluation of theory-based interventions. In Health behavior and health education: Theory, research, and practice (4th ed., pp. 487-508). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Spaulding, D. T. (2008). Foundations of program evaluation. In Program evaluation in practice: Core concepts and examples for discussion and analysis (pp. 3–35). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Analyzing and Evaluating Research Questions and Hypothese

 The following is an evaluation of the research questions, testable hypotheses, dependent and independent variables, and types of hypothesis in Grant and Gino (2010).

The research question was "how do gratitude expressions affect prosocial behavior through the mediating variables of self-efficacy and social value" (Grant & Gino, 2010, p. 946; Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.).  Expressions of gratitude are the independent variables (what were manipulated and what is expected to cause the dependent variable).  The mediator variables are self-efficacy and self-worth. 

The inferential questions are: can the expression of gratitude be associated with self-efficacy; and can the expression of gratitude be associated with feelings of social value. Both questions seek to make an association between the independent and independent variables (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). The authors are consistent in their placement and use of the independent and the independent variables - they consistently refer to the effects of gratitude expressions on the dependent variables, which are social value and self-efficacy (both mediators of helping or prosocial behavior).

The first testable hypothesis, which builds on the research question, is "when beneficiaries express gratitude, helpers will feel greater self-efficacy, which will motivate them to engage in prosocial behavior" (Grant & Gino, 2010, p. 947). A null hypothesis would have been 'gratitude expressions do not affect self-efficacy.' However, in this study, the authors use a directional hypothesis that supposes that gratitude expressions provoke self-efficacy, which motivates helping behavior (Creswell, 2009). In this hypothesis, the dependent variable is self-efficacy and the independent variable is expressions of gratitude. This is a predictive hypothesis.

The second testable hypothesis, which also builds on the research question, is "when beneficiaries express gratitude, helpers feel socially valued, which motivates helpers' prosocial behavior" (Grant & Gino, 2010, p. 947). A null hypothesis might have been 'gratitude expressions do not affect prosocial behavior.' As with the first testable hypothesis, the authors use a directional hypothesis that expresses their belief that experiences of social value will affect helping behavior (Creswell, 2009). In this hypothesis, social value is the independent variable and expressions of gratitude is the dependent variable. This, too, is a predictive hypothesis.

References

Grant, A.M., & Gino, F. (2010). A little thanks goes a long way: Explaining why gratitude
expressions motivate prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(6), 946-955. doi: 10.1037/a0017935

Creswell, J. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Laureate Education, Inc. (n.d.) Research Questions and Hypotheses Checklist. [Handout] Baltimore: Author