Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science (JCBS)
Volume 27, January 2023, Pages 1-10
Authors
Monica Barreto & Scott T. Gaynor
Abstract
Exercise, nutrition, and sleep are key health-related behaviors; however, only a fraction of the population meet recommended guidelines. To impact population-health it is important to develop focused, flexible, efficient, and efficacious interventions. This pilot study compared a 60-min Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) session to an information-only condition (IOC). Forty-five collegians (Mage = 22.35 [6.91], 78% female, 56% white) selected exercise, nutrition, or sleep as a target and were randomized to ACT (n = 22) or IOC (n = 23). Measures were taken at baseline, immediately after the ACT-session, 15-days, 30-days, and 60-days. The overall effects across targeted health-related behaviors favored ACT over IOC: a small effect at 15-days (d = 0.23), increasing to medium-to-large, and statistically significant, at (ds = 0.51 and 0.85). A large, statistically significant effect for ACT on satisfaction with target domain behavior (d = 0.91) was also found at 30-days. Immediately following the ACT-session there was a modest increase in confidence in making a change (d = 0.31). Exploratory subgroup analyses suggested the effects favoring ACT were most consistent and largest for sleep, followed by physical activity, and were inconsistent for nutrition. Improvements in ACT were largely maintained at 60-days. A single-session of ACT produced greater self-reported change than information about recommended health-related behaviors, warranting further work with larger, more diverse, samples.