Crystal Smit

Chapter 5 110 RESULTS Demographic Characteristics The sample of the current study consisted of 37 influence agents and 112 peers in the classroom networks of these influence agents. There were on average five influence agents per intervention class, aged between 9 and 13 years ( M = 10.95, SD = .94). Their peers were between 9 and 14 years of age ( M = 10.84, SD = 1.04). The majority of the influence agents and their peers came from high-affluence families (71.4% of influence agents and 69.4% of peers; Boyce, Torsheim, Currie, & Zambon, 2006) General Experiences with the Training The majority (84%) of the influence agents responded that they had enjoyed the training (scoring ≥ 3; see Table 5.2). Only 9% of the influence agents made a negative remark about the training; they indicated that they found the plastic soup (i.e., the environmental impact of drinking SSBs compared to tap water) sad and found it difficult to accept that they should persuade others. Most of the influence agents (84%; see Table 5.2) indicated that the training duration was adequate; that is, they thought that it was neither too short nor too long. Only 3% of the influence agents indicated that the training was too short. Almost all (97%; see Table 5.2) influence agents perceived the training as being autonomy supportive. The separate items of the perceived autonomy-support measure revealed that the influence agents experienced that the trainers had made efforts to provide choice, to encourage them to ask questions, to listen and understand them, and to show confidence in their ability (percentages ranging from 68 to 84% of the influence agents). This indicates that the influence agents experienced support for autonomy, competence, and relatedness during the training.