Katja Waldron | Penn State University (original) (raw)

Papers by Katja Waldron

Research paper thumbnail of The Effects of Embedded Skin Cancer Interventions on Sun-Safety Attitudes and Attention Paid to Tan Women on Instagram

Frontiers in Psychology

Background and ObjectivesBecause of high skin cancer risks for young women, it is vital that effe... more Background and ObjectivesBecause of high skin cancer risks for young women, it is vital that effective interventions reach and influence this demographic. Visual social media platforms, like Instagram, are popular with young women and are an appropriate intervention site; yet, they also host competing images idealizing tan skin. The present study tested the ability of digital sun-safety interventions to affect self-control-related emotions and visual attention to subsequent tan-ideal images as well as sun-safety attitudes.MethodsWomen were recruited from a large public Mid-Atlantic university in the United States. Participants (N = 120) were randomly assigned to view an appearance benefits intervention, a self-control emotions intervention, or a control message, each designed to look like an Instagram sponsored story. After self-reporting self-compassion and anticipated pride, participants then viewed seven pairs of Instagram posts featuring either tan or pale women while an eye tra...

Research paper thumbnail of Protective Behavioral Strategies Measure

Research paper thumbnail of Examining the impact of early college experiences on the cumulative number of alcohol-related consequences

Research paper thumbnail of Understanding perceived usefulness and actual use of protective behavioral strategies: The role of perceived norms for the reasons that young adult drinkers use protective behavioral strategies

Addictive Behaviors, 2021

Introduction-The current study examines the norms-behavior link by investigating a novel cognitio... more Introduction-The current study examines the norms-behavior link by investigating a novel cognition for protective behavioral strategies (PBS)-descriptive and injunctive norms for close friends' reasons to use PBS (e.g., limit drinking, reduce consequences)-in relation to one's own perception of usefulness and personal use of PBS. Further, we tested whether the association

Research paper thumbnail of Examining the ecological validity of the prototype willingness model for adolescent and young adult alcohol use

Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of #drunktwitter: Examining the relations between alcohol-related Twitter content and alcohol willingness and use among underage young adults

Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2018

PURPOSE Despite the importance of social networking sites on young adult alcohol use, few studies... more PURPOSE Despite the importance of social networking sites on young adult alcohol use, few studies have examined Twitter as a conduit for sharing drinking behavior. However, this work generally uses random samples of tweets and thus cannot determine the extent to which Tweets correspond with self-reported drinking cognitions or behaviors. The primary aims of the present study were to (1) document basic patterns of alcohol-related Twitter activity in a subsample of young adult drinkers, and (2) examine whether willingness to drink, alcohol use, and negative consequences are associated with alcohol-related tweeting behavior. METHODS 186 young adults age 18-20 completed an online survey and provided Twitter handle information. From these participants, a random sample of 5000 Tweets was coded by a trained team to determine whether tweets were related to alcohol use or not. Ordinary least squares regression analyses were conducted to determine whether the proportion of alcohol-related Tweets is associated with self-reported alcohol use willingness, behaviors, and negative consequences. RESULTS Results indicated that not only are alcohol-related tweets common among young adults, but that the proportion of one's overall tweets that are related to alcohol is significantly associated with willingness to drink, alcohol use, and negative consequences. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study are an important step to understanding how digital behavior (e.g., posting about alcohol on Twitter) is related to an individual's self-reported drinking cognitions, alcohol use, and negative consequences and has implications for the way Twitter data can be used for public health surveillance and interventions.

Research paper thumbnail of Alcohol-specific social comparison as a moderator of the norms-behavior association for young adult alcohol use

Addictive Behaviors, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of Consideration of future consequences as a moderator of the willingness-behavior relationship for young adult marijuana use and consequences

Addictive behaviors, Jan 22, 2018

The Prototype Willingness Model is a dual-processing (i.e., intentional and socially reactive) he... more The Prototype Willingness Model is a dual-processing (i.e., intentional and socially reactive) health-risk behavior model. The socially reactive path includes behavioral willingness, descriptive normative perceptions, and favorable images of individuals who engage in health-risk behavior (prototype favorability) as important predictors of health behaviors. Individual differences (such as consideration of future consequences) may potentiate the effects of behavioral willingness on health-risk outcomes, such as marijuana use. Given limited research investigating marijuana use and the Prototype Willingness Model, the goals of the current study were: 1) examine consideration of future consequences and Prototype Willingness Model social reaction pathway variables in relation to behavioral willingness to use marijuana longitudinally; and 2) determine if consideration of future consequences moderated the behavioral willingness-marijuana use relation prospectively. Young adults (N = 769) fr...

Research paper thumbnail of Perceived vulnerability moderates the relations between the use of protective behavioral strategies and alcohol use and consequences among high-risk young adults

Addictive behaviors, Jan 15, 2018

Drinking protective behavioral strategies (PBS) have been associated with reductions in alcohol u... more Drinking protective behavioral strategies (PBS) have been associated with reductions in alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences in young adults. PBS subscales, Limiting/Stopping (LS), Manner of Drinking (MOD), and Serious Harm Reduction (SHR), have been examined in the literature; LS, MOD, and SHR have mixed support as protective factors. Understanding moderators between PBS and alcohol use and related consequences is an important development in PBS research in order to delineate when and for whom PBS use is effective in reducing harm from alcohol use. Perceptions of vulnerability to negative consequences, included in health-risk models, may be one such moderator. The current study examined whether two types of perceived vulnerability (perceived vulnerability when drinking; perceived vulnerability in uncomfortable/unfamiliar situations) moderated the relations between LS, MOD, SHR strategies and alcohol use and related negative consequences. High-risk young adults (N = 400; 53....

Research paper thumbnail of Examining parental permissiveness toward drinking and perceived ethnic discrimination as risk factors for drinking outcomes among Latinx college students

Addictive Behaviors, 2021

BACKGROUND Despite almost 1 in 5 college students being Latinx, research examining risk factors f... more BACKGROUND Despite almost 1 in 5 college students being Latinx, research examining risk factors for college alcohol misuse and consequences to inform prevention efforts for Latinx is limited. The current study attempts to address a health disparity among Latinx college students by examining the effects of parental permissiveness of underage drinking and perceived ethnic discrimination on drinking outcomes. METHODS Latinx students from three large and geographically diverse public universities (N = 215; 73% female) completed measures during the fall of their first (T1) and second (T2) years. Analyses used moderated regression with bootstrapping to obtain asymmetrical 95% confidence intervals. Parental permissiveness of underage drinking and perceived ethnic discrimination were assessed as predictors at T1. Drinking outcomes were assessed at T2 as typical weekly drinking, peak blood alcohol content (BAC), and alcohol-related consequences. RESULTS T1 permissiveness was significantly positively associated with T2 peak BAC. T1 discrimination significantly moderated the association between T1 permissiveness and T2 peak BAC as well as T2 consequences. The effects of T1 permissiveness on T2 peak BAC and T2 consequences were stronger among Latinx who experienced above-average levels of T1 discrimination. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that among Latinx parental permissiveness of underage drinking and perceived ethnic discrimination are risk factors for peak BAC and alcohol-related consequences. The positive associations between parental permissiveness and peak BAC/consequences were stronger among Latinx students who experienced high levels of ethnic discrimination. Efforts to address these risk factors in future culturally sensitive parent-based interventions for Latinx college students are warranted.

Research paper thumbnail of Alcohol and Nicotine Motives Scale

Research paper thumbnail of Motivations to combine alcohol and nicotine in college students: A validation of the Alcohol and Nicotine Motives Scale

Research paper thumbnail of Alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine use as predictors of impaired driving and riding with an impaired driver among college students who engage in polysubstance use

Accident Analysis & Prevention

Research paper thumbnail of The Effects of Embedded Skin Cancer Interventions on Sun-Safety Attitudes and Attention Paid to Tan Women on Instagram

Frontiers in Psychology

Background and ObjectivesBecause of high skin cancer risks for young women, it is vital that effe... more Background and ObjectivesBecause of high skin cancer risks for young women, it is vital that effective interventions reach and influence this demographic. Visual social media platforms, like Instagram, are popular with young women and are an appropriate intervention site; yet, they also host competing images idealizing tan skin. The present study tested the ability of digital sun-safety interventions to affect self-control-related emotions and visual attention to subsequent tan-ideal images as well as sun-safety attitudes.MethodsWomen were recruited from a large public Mid-Atlantic university in the United States. Participants (N = 120) were randomly assigned to view an appearance benefits intervention, a self-control emotions intervention, or a control message, each designed to look like an Instagram sponsored story. After self-reporting self-compassion and anticipated pride, participants then viewed seven pairs of Instagram posts featuring either tan or pale women while an eye tra...

Research paper thumbnail of Protective Behavioral Strategies Measure

Research paper thumbnail of Examining the impact of early college experiences on the cumulative number of alcohol-related consequences

Research paper thumbnail of Understanding perceived usefulness and actual use of protective behavioral strategies: The role of perceived norms for the reasons that young adult drinkers use protective behavioral strategies

Addictive Behaviors, 2021

Introduction-The current study examines the norms-behavior link by investigating a novel cognitio... more Introduction-The current study examines the norms-behavior link by investigating a novel cognition for protective behavioral strategies (PBS)-descriptive and injunctive norms for close friends' reasons to use PBS (e.g., limit drinking, reduce consequences)-in relation to one's own perception of usefulness and personal use of PBS. Further, we tested whether the association

Research paper thumbnail of Examining the ecological validity of the prototype willingness model for adolescent and young adult alcohol use

Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of #drunktwitter: Examining the relations between alcohol-related Twitter content and alcohol willingness and use among underage young adults

Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2018

PURPOSE Despite the importance of social networking sites on young adult alcohol use, few studies... more PURPOSE Despite the importance of social networking sites on young adult alcohol use, few studies have examined Twitter as a conduit for sharing drinking behavior. However, this work generally uses random samples of tweets and thus cannot determine the extent to which Tweets correspond with self-reported drinking cognitions or behaviors. The primary aims of the present study were to (1) document basic patterns of alcohol-related Twitter activity in a subsample of young adult drinkers, and (2) examine whether willingness to drink, alcohol use, and negative consequences are associated with alcohol-related tweeting behavior. METHODS 186 young adults age 18-20 completed an online survey and provided Twitter handle information. From these participants, a random sample of 5000 Tweets was coded by a trained team to determine whether tweets were related to alcohol use or not. Ordinary least squares regression analyses were conducted to determine whether the proportion of alcohol-related Tweets is associated with self-reported alcohol use willingness, behaviors, and negative consequences. RESULTS Results indicated that not only are alcohol-related tweets common among young adults, but that the proportion of one's overall tweets that are related to alcohol is significantly associated with willingness to drink, alcohol use, and negative consequences. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study are an important step to understanding how digital behavior (e.g., posting about alcohol on Twitter) is related to an individual's self-reported drinking cognitions, alcohol use, and negative consequences and has implications for the way Twitter data can be used for public health surveillance and interventions.

Research paper thumbnail of Alcohol-specific social comparison as a moderator of the norms-behavior association for young adult alcohol use

Addictive Behaviors, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of Consideration of future consequences as a moderator of the willingness-behavior relationship for young adult marijuana use and consequences

Addictive behaviors, Jan 22, 2018

The Prototype Willingness Model is a dual-processing (i.e., intentional and socially reactive) he... more The Prototype Willingness Model is a dual-processing (i.e., intentional and socially reactive) health-risk behavior model. The socially reactive path includes behavioral willingness, descriptive normative perceptions, and favorable images of individuals who engage in health-risk behavior (prototype favorability) as important predictors of health behaviors. Individual differences (such as consideration of future consequences) may potentiate the effects of behavioral willingness on health-risk outcomes, such as marijuana use. Given limited research investigating marijuana use and the Prototype Willingness Model, the goals of the current study were: 1) examine consideration of future consequences and Prototype Willingness Model social reaction pathway variables in relation to behavioral willingness to use marijuana longitudinally; and 2) determine if consideration of future consequences moderated the behavioral willingness-marijuana use relation prospectively. Young adults (N = 769) fr...

Research paper thumbnail of Perceived vulnerability moderates the relations between the use of protective behavioral strategies and alcohol use and consequences among high-risk young adults

Addictive behaviors, Jan 15, 2018

Drinking protective behavioral strategies (PBS) have been associated with reductions in alcohol u... more Drinking protective behavioral strategies (PBS) have been associated with reductions in alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences in young adults. PBS subscales, Limiting/Stopping (LS), Manner of Drinking (MOD), and Serious Harm Reduction (SHR), have been examined in the literature; LS, MOD, and SHR have mixed support as protective factors. Understanding moderators between PBS and alcohol use and related consequences is an important development in PBS research in order to delineate when and for whom PBS use is effective in reducing harm from alcohol use. Perceptions of vulnerability to negative consequences, included in health-risk models, may be one such moderator. The current study examined whether two types of perceived vulnerability (perceived vulnerability when drinking; perceived vulnerability in uncomfortable/unfamiliar situations) moderated the relations between LS, MOD, SHR strategies and alcohol use and related negative consequences. High-risk young adults (N = 400; 53....

Research paper thumbnail of Examining parental permissiveness toward drinking and perceived ethnic discrimination as risk factors for drinking outcomes among Latinx college students

Addictive Behaviors, 2021

BACKGROUND Despite almost 1 in 5 college students being Latinx, research examining risk factors f... more BACKGROUND Despite almost 1 in 5 college students being Latinx, research examining risk factors for college alcohol misuse and consequences to inform prevention efforts for Latinx is limited. The current study attempts to address a health disparity among Latinx college students by examining the effects of parental permissiveness of underage drinking and perceived ethnic discrimination on drinking outcomes. METHODS Latinx students from three large and geographically diverse public universities (N = 215; 73% female) completed measures during the fall of their first (T1) and second (T2) years. Analyses used moderated regression with bootstrapping to obtain asymmetrical 95% confidence intervals. Parental permissiveness of underage drinking and perceived ethnic discrimination were assessed as predictors at T1. Drinking outcomes were assessed at T2 as typical weekly drinking, peak blood alcohol content (BAC), and alcohol-related consequences. RESULTS T1 permissiveness was significantly positively associated with T2 peak BAC. T1 discrimination significantly moderated the association between T1 permissiveness and T2 peak BAC as well as T2 consequences. The effects of T1 permissiveness on T2 peak BAC and T2 consequences were stronger among Latinx who experienced above-average levels of T1 discrimination. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that among Latinx parental permissiveness of underage drinking and perceived ethnic discrimination are risk factors for peak BAC and alcohol-related consequences. The positive associations between parental permissiveness and peak BAC/consequences were stronger among Latinx students who experienced high levels of ethnic discrimination. Efforts to address these risk factors in future culturally sensitive parent-based interventions for Latinx college students are warranted.

Research paper thumbnail of Alcohol and Nicotine Motives Scale

Research paper thumbnail of Motivations to combine alcohol and nicotine in college students: A validation of the Alcohol and Nicotine Motives Scale

Research paper thumbnail of Alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine use as predictors of impaired driving and riding with an impaired driver among college students who engage in polysubstance use

Accident Analysis & Prevention