Itzhak Yanovitzky

Mass Media, Social Norms, and Health Promotion Efforts A Longitudinal Study of Media Effects on Youth Binge Drinking

This study examines the validity of a norm-reinforcement approach as a complementary model to direct media effects on health behavior change. Focusing on news coverage effects on youth binge drinking between 1978 and 1996, it was hypothesized that the media may have contributed to the reduction in this behavior by increasing perceptions of social disapproval. The predictive power of this approach was then compared with that of other plausible models (namely, a direct effect model and a model proposing media effects that are mediated by policy actions). The findings from two separate tests (a time-series regression and the ideodynamic method) suggest that although a direct route of media effects on binge-drinking behavior produced evidence of null effects, there was evidence that the impact of news stories on this behavior was mediated by policy actions as well as by changes in the social acceptability of this behavior. Implications of this approach to the study of media effects on health behavior change are discussed.

Effect of media coverage and physician advice on utilization of breast cancer screening by women 40 years and older

T he purpose of this study is to examine the relative importance of media coverage and physician advice on the decision of women 40 years and older to obtain a mammogram . Five theoretical models, by which media coverage and physician advice may interact to a†ect individual health behavior, are presented. T hese models are tested with time± series regression analysis based on national± level data on mammography utilization and physician advice from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and content analysis of mammography ± related nation± al news coverage. Results suggest that although physician advice plays a key role in womenÏs decisions to have mammograms, media coverage of mammography screen± ing also contributes to mammography utilization by women. In particular, media coverage seems to be important for women who do not have regular contact with a physician or access to physicians. A possible conclusion is that mass media and physician advice complement one another in persuading individuals to adopt preven± tive health behavior.The purpose of this study is to examine the relative importance of media coverage and physician advice on the decision of women 40 years and older to obtain a mammogram. Five theoretical models, by which media coverage and physician advice may interact to affect individual health behavior, are presented. These models are tested with time-series regression analysis based on national-level data on mammography utilization and physician advice from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and content analysis of mammography-related national news coverage. Results suggest that although physician advice plays a key role in womens decisions to have mammograms, media coverage of mammography screening also contributes to mammography utilization by women. In particular, media coverage seems to be important for women who do not have regular contact with a physician or access to physicians. A possible conclusion is that mass media and physician advice complement one another in persuading individuals to adopt preventive health behavior.

Sensation Seeking and Adolescent Drug Use: The Mediating Role of Association With Deviant Peers and Pro-Drug Discussions

In this study, I examined direct and indirect influences of sensation seeking, a personality trait, on adolescent drug use. I hypothesized that some or even most of the contribution of sensation seeking to drug use by adolescents is mediated through association with deviant peers and communication with peers that is favorable toward drug use. I examined the role of additional risk or protective factors in facilitating or impeding association with deviant peers, pro-drug communication, and marijuana use as well. The results of analyzing nationally representative cross-sectional data from the evaluation of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign support the studys hypotheses and suggest that different factors may protect high sensation-seeking adolescents from using drugs or engaging in activities (e.g., association with deviant peers) that may increase their risk for drug use. I discuss the theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of these findings to the design of health communication interventions.

Media Attention, Institutional Response, and Health Behavior Change The Case of Drunk Driving, 1978-1996

This study considers media effects on behavior that are mediated through other social institutions. Examined is the extent to which changes over time in the amount of media attention to the issue of drunk driving (DD) may have contributed to the reduction in DD behavior between 1978 and 1996. It was hypothesized that media effects on DD behavior were mediated by policy response (i.e., legislation) to the DD problem. Aggregated measures of media attention, legislation, and DD behavior for 38 consecutive 6-month periods were used in a time-series regression analysis. Results indicate that although substantial direct media effects on DD-related legislation and behavior were present, the direct effect of media on behavior was no longer significant when the effect of legislation on behavior was controlled. These results suggest that future research efforts to uncover media effects on human behavior may benefit from considering the indirect impact of mass media on the social and cultural environment that surrounds individuals.

Sensation seeking and dosage effect: An exploration of the role of surprise in anti-cocaine messages

This article examines emotional and cognitive responses to graphic illustrations of the effects of cocaine among a sample of low and high sensation seekers (LSS & HSS). Two-hundred-and-five (n = 205) undergraduate students at a large northern university in the United Kingdom participated in the study and were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: low-image or high-image print adverts about the consequences of cocaine use. Results indicated that although high sensation seekers report greater cocaine use as compared with low sensation seekers, report less surprise and have less dominant cognitions than LSS, they do not differ from LSS in terms of other affective responses when exposed to anti-cocaine visual messages. However, the high-image advert was more successful than the low-image adverts in eliciting surprise, which has important theoretical and empirical implications for the design of effective messages targeting HSS.

A Multiyear Assessment of Public Response to a Statewide Drug Take-Back and Disposal Campaign, 2010 to 2012

This study is the first to analyze public response to a drug take-back program, the American Medicine Chest Challenge, in a single state over a period of 3 years (2010-2012). The study utilized a three-wave repeated cross-sectional design and an annual phone survey conducted with a representative sample of adults (N = 906 in 2010, N = 907 in 2011, and N = 906 in 2012), which assessed exposure to the campaign, drug disposal behaviors, possible mediators of campaign effects (risk appraisal, personal agency, normative influence, and interpersonal talk), and potential confounders. Logistic regression and causal mediation analysis were employed to estimate confounder-adjusted direct and mediated effects of the campaign. Results showed that the campaign reached a sizable portion (50% to 60%) of state adults and that campaign exposure was associated with increased likelihood of having conversations with others about this topic. About 55% of all adults in the state reported taking at least one of the actions recommended by the campaign, and campaign exposure was associated with increased likelihood of disposing of prescription drugs at a drug collection day event (adjusted odds ratio = 4) and of talking to a child about the risks associated with prescription drug abuse (adjusted odds ratio = 2). The causal mediation analysis demonstrated that the campaign influenced audiences by reinforcing their efficacy to safely dispose of prescription drugs, but also potentially by stimulating conversations among community members about this topic. Drug take-back campaigns can be an effective mechanism to decrease the availability of prescription drugs in communities.

Adolescent egocentrism and indoor tanning: is the relationship direct or mediated?

This paper explored how imaginary audience and personal fable ideations contribute to adolescent indoor tanning intentions directly and indirectly through the way they shape pro-tanning attitude and association with peers who use tanning beds. Five hundred and ninety-five male (n = 207) and female (n = 387) adolescents, ranging in age from 11 to 19 (M = 16.87; SD = 1.34) years completed a cross-sectional survey. Measures included imaginary audience, personal fable (three dimensions: invulnerability, uniqueness, and omnipotence), pro-tanning attitude, association with peers who use tanning beds, and tanning bed use intentions. Bootstrapping analyses documented that imaginary audience ideations are indirectly associated with indoor tanning intentions through the mediation of pro-tanning attitude and association with peers who use tanning beds. Of the personal fable ideations, only invulnerability ideation is indirectly associated with indoor tanning intentions through the mediation of association with peers who use tanning beds. Design and evaluation of interventions and campaigns to reduce indoor tanning must be targeted to adolescents varying in imaginary audience ideations differently.