Barbara Mullan

Purpose: Many interventions aim to support women with and after a breast cancer diagnosis to increase physical activity; however, the behaviour change components supporting long‐term effectiveness remain unclear. This review examined the behaviour change techniques used in physical activity interventions in breast cancer populations that reported long‐term behavioural outcomes (≥12 weeks post‐intervention). Methods: Six databases (CINAHL Ultimate, Medline, ProQuest, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science) were searched in September 2024 and January 2026 for physical activity interventions for women with and beyond breast cancer that included behavioural measures ≥12 weeks after intervention completion. Behaviour change techniques were coded using the Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy, and effect size estimates for long‐term physical activity outcomes were calculated in R and synthesised descriptively. Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. Results: Thirty‐eight studies (53 intervention groups; 4661 participants) were included. Interventions included between 2 and 18 behaviour change techniques; however, reporting often lacked sufficient operational detail to determine how techniques were implemented. Several techniques appeared inconsistently applied or misaligned with their intended mechanisms of action. Although most interventions cited behavioural theory, links between theoretical constructs and intervention content were often unclear. No meaningful patterns were identified between individual techniques and long‐term physical activity outcomes. Risk of bias was high, with common issues related to blinding and reporting. Conclusion: Improved reporting, operationalisation and theoretical grounding of behaviour change interventions is needed to increase transparency and inform future interventions to promote quality of life through physical activity after treatment.

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers globally, with around 2.3 million new cases diagnosed in 2022 [1]. Breast cancer treatments are typically effective, with an estimated 90...

Since 2011, the EHPS has supported several Special Interest Groups (SIGs). SIGs are networks designed to connect EHPS members who have shared interests, facilitate knowledge exchange, and establish collaborations outside of the annual conference. Fifteen years on, seven SIGs exist within the Society, supporting networks of members including those with interests in methodological approaches, social justice and representation, theory and application. In this paper, we draw on our experiences of five years of running the EHPS ‘Habit’ SIG to illustrate some of the benefits that SIGs confer on their members, and the broader health psychology community. We provide examples of how the Habit SIG has allowed its members to steer the course of habit research in health psychology, created a forum for generating and debating new ideas, and strengthened collaborations and community while also supporting career development among early career researchers. We present the Habit SIG as a blueprint for how specialisms within the EHPS can flourish through the establishment and maintenance of SIGs.

Chronic diseases are a global concern, posing a significant burden on healthcare, social, and economic systems (Hacker, 2024). In Australia, it is suggested that the burden of disease could be redu...

Objectives: University students regularly report insufficient sleep, with almost one‐third of students achieving less than 6.5 hours per night. Social media is one behaviour shown to negatively influence sleep. However, there has been a reliance on self‐report measures of both processes, which may not reflect objective behaviour. The aim was to determine if there is a relationship between social media use and sleep outcomes when measured objectively, and if so, which sleep outcomes were associated with social media use. Design: A longitudinal repeated measures design was used to assess daily social media use and sleep outcomes over 14 days. Methods: Participants wore accelerometers to measure their sleep, with total daily social media use derived from smartphone data. Results: Sixty‐two participants ( M _age = 22.11 years, SD = 5.82 years) completed the study. Linear mixed models revealed no between or within‐participant effects of daily social media on sleep duration, sleep onset latency, sleep efficiency and bedtime. However, TikTok showed a positive between‐participants effect on bedtime. A generalized linear mixed model also revealed that Snapchat had a negative between‐participants effect on sleep onset latency. Conclusions: Findings indicate that the duration of time spent on social media does not impact sleep across this sample. However, interactions with different social media platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat may play an important role in influencing sleep quality. These findings suggest that behavioural measures do not reflect the same pattern of effects observed with self‐report, highlighting the need for future research to corroborate findings derived from self‐report.

Background Physical activity is beneficial for women living with and beyond breast cancer. Many interventions aim to increase physical activity in this population; however, their effectiveness is uncertain. This review examines changes in physical activity levels across short- and long-term timepoints following these interventions. Methods Online databases (CINAHL Ultimate, Medline, ProQuest, PsycINFO, SCOPUS, and Web of Science) were systematically searched for studies evaluating physical activity interventions for women living with and beyond breast cancer, assessing physical activity outcomes at baseline, post-intervention (short-term), and at least 3 months from the end of the intervention (long-term). Random-effects multilevel models were used for meta-analyses. Results The review included 43 studies with 5295 participants. Of these, 28 had sufficient data for meta-analyses. For between-group analyses, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) showed moderate effects at post-intervention (SMD = 0.46, 95% CI [0.17, 0.75]), while total physical activity showed small-to-moderate effects (SMD = 0.33, [0.15, 0.51]). At long-term follow-up (range 3 months to 5 years), effects were small for MVPA (SMD = 0.24, [0.14, 0.35]) and total physical activity (SMD = 0.25, [0.08, 0.43]). For within-group analyses, MVPA showed small-to-moderate effects (SMD = 0.38, [0.12, 0.63]) at post-intervention, while total physical activity showed moderate effects (SMD = 0.46, [0.14, 0.77]). At long-term follow-up, change from baseline MVPA was not statistically significant, while total physical activity showed a moderate effect (SMD = 0.33, [0.18, 0.47]). Conclusions Physical activity interventions for women with and beyond breast cancer appear effective in the short term. However, long-term effects are inconsistent, especially for intensive activity. Identifying influential factors, including psychological determinants, that promote long-term physical activity would support sustained survivorship outcomes.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore self-control and habit strength interventions based on temporal self-regulation theory on decreasing discretionary food consumption. Design/methodology/approach: A two by two (time by condition) design was used whereby 152 participants who resided in Australia (61% identified as women) completed an online questionnaire containing validated measures of intention, self-control, habit strength and discretionary food consumption. They participants completed either: a self-control intervention, a habit strength intervention or were part of the control group. At time two, one week later, participants repeated the baseline measures. Data were collected in April 2024. Findings: There was no time by condition effect with no significant main effect of time on discretionary food consumption F (1, 149) = 2.10, p = 0.149, ηp2 = 0.01 and no significant changes in self-control or habit strength. This indicates that habit strength and self-control were not effective in decreasing discretionary food consumption. Findings offer a starting point for using temporal self-regulation theory to change behaviour by targeting its constructs with behaviour change techniques. Originality/value: This study is the first to apply the principles of temporal self-regulation theory within an experimental design with the intention of decreasing discretionary food consumption. The current study provides direction for future interventions targeting interventional dosage and longer durations for implementing self-control and habit strength interventions.

Habits are important factors that help guide the performance of health behaviours, yet little is known about how habits form following a major context change. To observe the habit trajectory of physical activity engagement and assess the relationship between habit trajectory and theoretical determinants of habit formation, a longitudinal design was used to track physical activity habit trajectory over 12 weeks during COVID-19 lockdowns. Participants (N = 41) selected a cue related to physical activity, to assist in increasing their engagement. At baseline, and every two days, participants reported their behaviour, habit, and cue exposure. Trait self-control, history of physical activity behaviour, and demographic information were also collected at baseline. Physical activity habit strength significantly increased from baseline to the final assessment 12 weeks later; however substantial variability was observed in growth over time and neither the linear nor the logarithmic growth model provided a good fit at the overall level. Nonetheless, higher levels of self-control were significantly related to faster habit strength formation. Individual differences in habit formation require further investigation to better understand why some individuals form habits while others do not.

The present study sought to better understand the relationship between a broad range of sleep hygiene behaviours and important but under researched objective sleep outcomes: total time spent awake after sleep onset (WASO), the number of awakenings (NWAK) during the night, and sleep onset latency (SOL). Secondary data from a 14-day repeated measures design among 74 undergraduate students was analysed using linear mixed models to determine the between and within-person associations of 32 sleep hygiene behaviours with objectively measured sleep outcomes. Later bedtimes and earlier wake-times were significantly associated with better sleep at both the between and within-person levels. More frequent napping was associated with increased NWAK and greater WASO. More frequent occurrences of falling asleep with music or the TV on, eating too much food before bed, and alcohol use were each only associated with an increased NWAK. Having an unpleasant conversation before bed and sleeping in a poorly ventilated environment were associated with greater WASO. Differential associations with sleep hygiene and individual sleep outcomes suggest that sleep hygiene could be reframed to incorporate sleep more holistically and more carefully consider which sleep parameter is being impacted.

Foodborne illness remains a persistent public health issue, yet domestic food safety practices are shaped by individual knowledge, social expectations, and gendered norms. This study examines how gender norms and expectations shape Australian consumers’ safe food-handling knowledge, perceptions, and practices. Guided by a social constructionist epistemology and feminist framework, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 participants aged 18–24 years recruited from a university research participation pool. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes were identified: “I know what I am doing”, optimism bias and false confidence, “Men’s casualness versus women’s strictness”, gendered safe food handling practices and expectations, and “Careful about others, relaxed for myself”, food safety as a social performance. Participants often expressed false confidence in their practices, reflecting optimism bias and reduced perceived susceptibility to foodborne illness. Women tended to portray vigilance and responsibility, while men described more relaxed approaches, reflecting gendered socialisation. Food safety also emerged as performative, with heightened care displayed when cooking for others. These findings highlight that domestic food safety is socially embedded and both reflects and reproduces gender norms. Addressing these dynamics through socially informed, context-sensitive interventions may improve public health outcomes.