Table 2.

Parents’ message framing preferences

Framing component	Option types	Example	% pref
Positive vs. negative messages	Positive	If you talk with your children about sex and relationships, they will be better able to deal with difficulties	100 %
	Negative	if you don’t talk with your children about sex and relationships, they will be less able to deal with difficulties	0 %
Numeric feedback (summary at end of game)	Percentage	You respond positively to your child 80 % of the time.	45.9 %
	Fraction	You respond positively to your child four-fifths of the time	0 %
	Ratio	You respond positively to your child four out of five times.	16.4 %
	Proportion	You respond positively to your child more than three quarters of the time	3.3 %
	General	You respond positively to your child most of the time	34.4 %
Evaluation statements	Statement only	You generally react negatively to difficult or embarrassing situations	11.1 %
	Statement + interpretation	You generally react negatively to difficult or embarrassing situations, probably because you don’t feel able to deal with them	3.7 %
	Statement + suggested changes	You generally react negatively to difficult or embarrassing situations, and you need to think about how to understand things from your child’s perspective	24.1 %
	Statement + targeted questions	You generally react negatively to difficult or embarrassing situations. Is this because you don’t know what to say? You don’t have the confidence? Or is it something else. Think about what is making you react so strongly at times	35.2 %
	Statement + reflection from child’s perspective	You generally react negatively to difficult or embarrassing situations because you find it difficult to know how to respond. As a result you respond quickly, sometimes without finding out more information from your child first. You should think about how this impacts on your child	25.9 %