Adolescents continue to be affected by behavior-related health risk factors such as low levels of physical activity. They can be motivated to be more physically active in various ways, but they can also take agency in their own behavior change and use different behavior change techniques to manage and maintain their behavior. According to self-determination theory, the quality of motivation is key in behavior change, as fostering autonomous motivation should lead to long-lasting wellbeing-enhancing changes, whereas controlled motivation might have adverse effects. There is some evidence of the positive effects of the use of individual behavior change techniques on physical activity, but the effects of their use on motivational constructs is less studied. The aim of this thesis is to map the effects of (1) the use of individual self-motivating behavior change techniques on changes in physical activity-related autonomous and controlled motivation, (2) the total use of self-motivating behavior change techniques on changes in physical activity-related autonomous and controlled motivation, and (3) the total use of self-motivational behavior change techniques, and controlled and autonomous motivation on changes in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. This thesis utilizes data from Let’s Move It, a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a school-based physical activity intervention (baseline N=767, post-intervention N=687). At both time points, participants self-reported use of three self-motivational techniques (reflecting on identity congruence, life values congruence and thinking about personal motives) on a scale from 1 to 6, and their autonomous and controlled motivation on a scale from 1 to 5. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was assessed with 7-day accelerometry. Their associations are analyzed with multivariate regression models corrected for age, gender and baseline levels of motivation or physical activity. The findings show that reflecting on life identity congruence (autonomous motivation; AM β=0.202, p<.001; controlled motivation; CM β=0.132, p<.001), life values congruence (AM β=0.184, p<.001; CM β=0.112, p<.001), and thinking about personal motives (AM β=0.246, p<.001; CM β=0.175, p<.001), as well as their total use (AM β=0.260, p<.001; CM β=0.157, p<.001), were all associated with both autonomous and controlled motivation. Total self-motivational behavior change technique use (β= -0.026, p=.617) and controlled motivation (β= -0.037, p=.373) had no detectable effects on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, but autonomous motivation (β=0.135, p<0.05) did. This thesis sheds light on the actions that individuals can take themselves to foster their motivation. Understanding how adolescents can self-motivate themselves can give insight into how to sustain a sense of autonomy while navigating through different life situations, and thus help to achieve long-lasting and wellbeing enhancing behaviors.

Over the last decade computers have become widespread in primary schools and typing has become a common task in school life alongside handwriting. Handwriting and typing differ in many ways, although similarities can also be found. Previous studies have indicated that in studying languages, handwriting has benefits in memorisation over typing. This study was conducted to explore if there was a similar effect between writing methods in memorisation in environmental studies. The study was carried out as an experimental intervention study, in which participants practiced memorising Finnish plant and animal species. 42 third-grade students from three classes from a primary school in Helsinki participated in the study. Within each class the participants were randomly assigned into two groups, 22 of them writing by hand and 20 of them typing on a laptop. All participants performed all the exercises and memorisation tests according to the assigned writing method. First, a baseline test was performed to determine how many of the 30 species the participants already knew. After the baseline test, the participants practiced four times 15 minutes. In the practice sessions they wrote on a form the Finnish names of each species five times under the photos of the species. During the practice, the participants were instructed to check the names of the species from a reference sheet. The number of completed tasks was recorded as a variable measuring the amount of practice. After the practice sessions, memorisation was measured with a test on the same species without the reference sheet. The data was analysed with two covariance analyses: a pre-registered repeated measures covariance analysis and an exploratory covariance analysis, both using the amount of practicing as a covariate. When the amount of training had been controlled, neither of the covariance analyses showed statistically significant effect between the writing methods on memorisation. Instead, the amount of practice and previous knowledge had a statistical significance on memorisation. This study provided new information on the impact of writing methods on memorisation in the context of environmental studies. The results showed that the writing method had no effect on memorisation when studying environmental studies. Based on the limitations of this study, no strong recommendations can be made on the advantages or benefits of either writing method in environmental studies. Further research is needed to provide a stronger scientific basis for the possible use of digital devices in schools.

OBJECTIVE: We recently showed that measurement of the susceptibility of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) to aggregation is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events. We now wished to compare effects of overfeeding different dietary macronutrients on LDL aggregation, proteoglycan-binding of plasma lipoproteins, and on the concentration of oxidized LDL in plasma, 3 in vitro parameters consistent with increased atherogenicity. APPROACH AND RESULTS: The participants (36 subjects; age, 48±10 years; body mass index, 30.9±6.2 kg/m2) were randomized to consume an extra 1000 kcal/day of either unsaturated fat, saturated fat, or simple sugars (CARB) for 3 weeks. We measured plasma proatherogenic properties (susceptibility of LDL to aggregation, proteoglycan-binding, oxidized LDL) and concentrations and composition of plasma lipoproteins using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and in LDL using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, before and after the overfeeding diets. LDL aggregation increased in the saturated fat but not the other groups. This change was associated with increased sphingolipid and saturated triacylglycerols in LDL and in plasma and reduction of clusterin on LDL particles. Proteoglycan binding of plasma lipoproteins decreased in the unsaturated fat group relative to the baseline diet. Lipoprotein properties remained unchanged in the CARB group. CONCLUSIONS: The type of fat during 3 weeks of overfeeding is an important determinant of the characteristics and functional properties of plasma lipoproteins in humans.

In Helsinki Medical school, half of the students experience lot of stress during their studies. Earlier inter-national research shows that university students wellbeing can be improved with practicing mindfulness skills, but in Finland there are fewer studies in this topic. Research on mindfulness trainings effects on different study programs, age-groups and genders are also missing. The aim of this study was to find out, if practicing mindfulness is linked to better wellbeing in university students in Helsinki Medical school. Other aim was to find out and there some effect concerning study program, gender, age, the amount of mindfulness training or earlier mindfulness background. The study was randomized controlled trial research with intervention- (N=52) and control group (N=35). Intervention group practiced mindfulness skills on different methods and control group had sup-port as usual from the university. The measures were gathered with online questionnaire in the in the baseline and at the end of the study (5-8weeks). T-test was used to analyze changes between baseline and finish measurements. Repeated ANOVA was used to measure intervention effect. The overall wellbeing in the intervention group did not change during the intervention. Whereas in control groups wellbeing decreased statistically significantly in almost every variable. It is possible, that mindfulness training helps to prevent increase of stress levels. There was seen decrease in subjective wellbeing in both groups, but in the intervention group the decrease was significantly less (p= 0.03, η2 =.053). The intervention effect size (η2) was small. In intervention group there was a significant differ-ence between medical and dentistry students and psychology and logopedics student’s subjective wellbe-ing (p=0.037, η2=.084). There was a moderate intervention effect (η2). Medical and dentistry students experienced more effect from the intervention. Due to small amount of the study subjects, results are di-rectional. The results support the earlier findings where mindfulness has effect on wellbeing. Methods based on mindfulness training should be studied more to find out cost effective and preventive ways to support medical student’s wellbeing. More research is also needed to find out the best methods for different genders, age groups and students from different study programs.

Tässä pro gradu -tutkielmassa tarkastellaan empiirisen tutkimuksen avulla sitä, minkälainen merkitys viestinnällisillä kehyksillä on ihmisten terveyskäyttäytymiseen kohdistuvien interventioiden, eli muutosohjelmien vaikuttavuuden kannalta älypuhelinten terveys- ja hyvinvointisovellusten kontekstissa, ja miten näiden kehysten tutkimuksen avulla voidaan edistää interventioiden onnistumista. Tutkimusta motivoi ennen kaikkea se, että valtaosa elämänlaatua merkittävästi laskevista kroonisista sairauksista sekä ennenaikaisista kuolemista olisi maailmanlaajuisesti vältettävissä, mikäli ihmiset omaksuisivat tehokkaammin omaa fyysistä ja henkistä hyvinvointiaan parantavia elämäntapoja. Terveellisten elämäntapojen omaksumisessa on kuitenkin todettu ympäri maailman merkittäviä ja kasvavia, esimerkiksi työelämän ja ruokailutottumusten muutoksiin liittyviä ongelmia, joiden ratkaisemista vaikeuttaa se, että suurinta osaa ihmisen käyttäytymisestä ohjaa kudelma monimutkaisesti rakentuvia tapoja ja tottumuksia, joiden muuttaminen vaatii yksilöltä paljon tietoa ja työtä. Ihmisten taskuissa ja laukuissa aamusta iltaan mukana kulkevat älypuhelimet mahdollistavat kuitenkin uudenlaisia lupaavia toiminnallisia terveyskäyttäytymiseen kohdistuvia interventioita, jotka teknologiansa puolesta voivat tavoittaa kerralla kymmeniä miljoonia ihmisiä. Älypuhelinsovellusten interventioihin kohdistuva tutkimuksen tarve kasvaa täten kiihtyvää tahtia, mikä tarkoittaa myös sitä, että niiden viestintään kohdistuva tutkimustarve kasvaa. Yksi alan tutkimusalue on terveysviestien kehystäminen. Tältä pohjalta tämän tutkimuksen empiiriseksi kohteeksi on valikoitu yli 300 000 käyttäjää ympäri maailmaa kerännyt älypuhelinsovellus YOU-app, jonka hyvinvoinnin lisäämiseen tähtäävien tehtävien otsikoista tutkimuksessa on suoritettu laadullinen kehysanalyysi, jotta saataisiin selville, miten sovelluksen eniten ja vähiten tehtyjä tehtäviä on kehystetty. Kehysanalyysin tuloksia on tämän jälkeen analysoitu kvantitatiivisesti, jotta voitaisiin saada selville kehysten mahdollinen rooli tehtävien suorittamisaktiivisuudessa. Tutkimuksen aineisto kattaa sovelluksen ”päivän tehtävä” -nimiset tehtävät sekä niiden suoritusprosentit kahden vuoden ja kolmen kuukauden ajalta. Koska yhteiskuntatieteistä kumpuava kehysanalyysia ei tyypillisesti käytetä terveyskäyttäytymisinterventioiden yhteydessä, tutkimuksen teoreettisena pohjana on käytetty synteesiä terveyskäyttäytymisen muuttamisen ja niihin kohdistuvien interventioiden, interventioiden viestinnän sekä terveysviestinnän tutkimuksesta sekä kehysanalyysin teoreettista taustaa. Näiden tutkimusalueiden avulla on analysoitu kehysanalyysin ja kehysten kvantitatiivisen analyysin tuloksia sekä pohdittu laajemmin tutkimustehtävän mukaisesti sitä, millainen merkitys terveyskäyttäytymisinterventioiden viestinnällisillä kehyksillä on käyttäytymismuutosten tutkimuksessa ja aikaansaamisessa. Tutkimuksessa aineistosta löydettiin kehysanalyysin yhdeksän kehystä: positiivisten tunteiden, korostetun henkilökohtaisuuden, helppouden, korostetun nopeuden, välittömän hyödyn, epäselvän hyödyn, aktiivisen tekemisen, muille hyödyn tuottamisen sekä negaation kehykset. Kvantitatiivisen analyysin perusteella todettiin, että kehysten jakautuminen aineistossa viittaa siihen, että erityisesti positiivisten tunteiden, välittömän hyödyn ja epäselvän hyödyn kehyksillä voi olla ollut suuri merkitys siinä, kuinka aktiivisesti käyttäjät ovat motivoituneet suorittamaan sovelluksen tehtäviä. Näistä positiivisten tunteiden ja välittömän hyödyn kehyksillä vaikutus näytti positiiviselta, kun taas epäselvän hyödyn osalta negatiivisesti käyttäytymismotivaatioon vaikuttavalta. Myös muut kehykset näyttivät vaikuttavan motivaatioon, mutta ennemminkin osana kehysyhdistelmää. Tulosten ja niiden teoreettiseen viitekehykseen suhteuttamisen pohjalta tutkimuksessa tultiin siihen lopputulokseen, että terveyskäyttäytymisinterventioiden terveysviestien kehykset voivat vaikuttaa interventioiden onnistumiseen, ja että yhteiskuntatieteistä kumpuavalla kehysanalyysilla voidaan tavoittaa interventioiden onnistumiseen ja epäonnistumiseen vaikuttavia tekijöitä.