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Alcohol Advertising:
A Study of Children and Adolescents
Principal Investigator: Joel W. Grube,
Ph.D.
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Presentation
Young people have well-developed beliefs about alcohol even before they have experience
with drinking. Although parents, peers, and other environmental influences are
important in shaping these beliefs, and ultimately drinking behaviors, alcohol
advertising may also be a source through which children and adolescents learn
about alcohol. 
The available research, however, does not answer the question of whether alcohol
advertising affects the drinking knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors of young people.
Moreover, there is only a limited understanding of the themes and images portrayed
in alcohol advertising and how children and adolescents interpret and respond
to them. In order to address these issues, three interrelated studies of television
and magazine alcohol and comparison (soft drink) advertising will be undertaken.
[Study 1] is a three-year longitudinal survey of 1,000 9-16 year-old children
and adolescents and their parents. This study will investigate the effects of
exposure to, attention to, and affect toward alcohol advertising on drinking knowledge,
expectancies, perceived norms, intentions, and behaviors.  ....
The study will apply a theoretical model that stipulates how alcohol advertising
is mediated and moderated by variables important for the message interpretation
process. It will use a combination of computer assisted personal interviews, self-administered
questionnaires, and interim telephone interviews. [Study
2] is a content analysis focusing on the themes, images, and other characteristics
of television and magazine alcohol and comparison advertisements. The content
analyses will focus on objective characteristics of the advertisements (e.g.,
number and gender of characters) and on more subjective aspects of them (e.g.,
themes, images, and implied promises). In addition to providing important information
about the nature of alcohol and comparison soft drink advertising, the data from
the content analyses will be combined with the survey data.  ....
[Study 3] will investigate young people's responses to and interpretations of
alcohol and comparison advertising. It will thus provide a greater understanding
of what qualities make alcohol advertisements appealing to young people. 
It will also provide important information about the interpretation process that
children and adolescents use when exposed to alcohol advertisements. The overall
goal of the research is to ascertain if, and under what circumstances, alcohol
advertising predisposes young people to drink.  ....
The studies will increase our knowledge of the processes through which such changes
occur and will provide a basis for designing effective prevention strategies.
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