Current study
cognitive, affective, and behavioural engagement, eating disorders
LITTLE
Little research in body dissatisfaction and eating disorders has identified the specific approach taken in persuasive communications as either informational or narrative [As social media (and increasingly, traditional media with a social media presence) relies heavily on sharing of information (e.g., sharing a health message campaign to one’s own social media account, or through email) and engagement (e.g., comments, likes, emotional investment in the topic), the current study sought to understand the effect of different types of persuasive communication on engagement in a body image social marketing video. Thus, the current study aimed to examine the extent to which such a campaign can generate cognitive, affective, and behavioural engagement and to compare levels of engagement across informational, narrative, and persuasive appeal communication approaches. As engagement has not previously been investigated within this context, no specific hypotheses were made. However, the following research questions were explored:RQ1: Of the persuasive approaches (informational, narrative, persuasive appeal, informational and persuasive, narrative and persuasive), which results in superior engagement in the topic of body dissatisfaction mental health literacy?RQ2: Do particular persuasive communication approaches impact the cognitive, affective, and behavioural domains of engagement differently?