| | Alcohol
Advertising--A Study of Children and Adolescents
Principal
Investigator: Joel W. Grube, Ph.D.
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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 inter-related
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 to 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.
Proceed
to PRC CD Presentation featuring Dr. Joel W. Grube
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