Table 6.
Survey measures and descriptions for behavioral, cognitive, and psychological assessment
| Construct | Survey Description |
|---|---|
| Perceived Stress (78) | A 10-item questionnaire assessing global measure of perceived stress, using a Likert-type scale (0 = never, 4 = very often). |
| Stress Management(79) | A 9-item survey with yes-no responses to assess stress management habits, adapted from the APA Stress in America report. |
| Sleep(80) | A scale assessing sleep initiation (how long to fall asleep), duration (average hours per night), and 10 questions assessing quality of sleep used in the Medical Outcomes Study (1 = none of the time, 6 = all of the time). |
| Physical Activity(54, 55) | International Physical Activity Questionnaires (IPAQ) Short Form to measure health-enhancing physical activities in daily life, assessing intensity, frequency, and duration. |
| Physical Activity Self-Efficacy(81) Weight Management Social Support(82) |
A 5-item Likert-type scale used to assess an individual’s confidence in own ability to exercise in varying situations. Using the Weight Management and Support Inventory (WMSI), this 26 item questionnaire assessed the frequency and subjective helpfulness of supportive behaviors for weight loss for participants (1 = never/not at all helpful, 5 = daily/extremely helpful). |
| Interpersonal Support(83) | Measures informational and emotional support, as well as communication styles, through 24 questions (8 per construct) with participants using a Likert scale of (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). |
| Metabolic Risk(8) | A 5-question (yes/no) survey to assess whether participants know about metabolic risk and about specific aspects of metabolic risk, as described by Huang et al. |
| Cigarettes/Tobacco Use and Weight Control (84, 85) | Cigarette use was assessed with the questions from the 2014 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, with an additional 3 questions from the Weight Control Smoking Scale (WCSS) to assess tobacco use and weight control (1 = not at all, 4 = very much so). |
| E-Cigarette Use, Perceptions, and Weight Control (84–86) | E-cigarette use was assessed based on items from the Wave 1 Adult Instrument from the Population Assessment on Tobacco and Health (PATH), with 3 questions adapted from the WCSS to assess e-cigarette use and weight control (1 = not at all, 4 = very much so). Additionally 11 questions were included from the PATH to assess perceptions of e-cigarettes (yes/no). |
| Social Media Engagement(87) | This 21-question survey assesses Facebook and SMS text message usage with a Likert scale for 11 questions based on Ellison et al. (2007) (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) and additional questions assessing Facebook group utilization. |
| Social Networking(88) | A three-question survey assessed the number of social contacts trying to lose weight (1 = none, 4 = all). |
| Social Norms(88) | A 8-item survey assessed social norms for obesity and obesity-related behaviors, including social acceptability of being overweight (1 = very unacceptable, 4 = very acceptable), frequency of contacts within networks encouraging and providing weight loss information (1 = never, 4 = often), and role models for healthy eating and activity. |
| Weight Self-Efficacy(89) | Participants reported on weight self-efficacy using the Weight Efficacy Lifestyle Questionnaire (WEL), a 20-question survey on confidence for situational factors related to weight loss (0 = not confident, 9 = confident). Situational factors include negative emotions, availability, social pressure, physical discomfort, and positive activities. |
| Body Image and Quality of Life(90) | The Body Image Quality of Life Inventory, a 19-question survey, assessed feelings about physical appearance (−3 = very negative effect, 3 = very positive effect). |