Maria Leonora G. Comello

The Community Readiness Model: A Complementary Approach to Social Marketing

The Community Readiness Model is a theory-based model that is strategic in nature. It is designed both to assess and to build a community’s capacity to take action on social issues. It partners well with social marketing research by providing a framework for assessing the social contexts in which individual behaviour takes place and by measuring changes in readiness related to community-wide efforts. This article describes the theoretical roots of the model and describes how the model can be used as a tool for formative research, programme evaluation and as a catalyst for community mobilisation.

Assessing media campaigns linking marijuana non-use with autonomy and aspirations: "Be Under Your Own Influence" and ONDCP's "Above the Influence".

Two media-based interventions designed to reduce adolescent marijuana use ran concurrently from 2005 to 2009. Both interventions used similar message strategies, emphasizing marijuana’s inconsistency with personal aspirations and autonomy. “Be Under Your Own Influence” was a randomized community and school trial replicating and extending a successful earlier intervention of the same name (Slater et al. Health Education Research 21:157–167, 2006). “Above the Influence” is a continuing national television, radio, and print campaign sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). This study assessed the simultaneous impact of the interventions in the 20 U.S. communities. Results indicate that earlier effects of the “Be Under Your Own Influence” intervention replicated only in part and that the most plausible explanation of the weaker effects is high exposure to the similar but more extensive ONDCP “Above the Influence” national campaign. Self-reported exposure to the ONDCP campaign predicted reduced marijuana use, and analyses partially support indirect effects of the two campaigns via aspirations and autonomy.

The Effects of Drug-Prevention Messages on the Accessibility of Identity-Related Constructs

Recent theoretical work has posited that the self-system guides behavior via currently activated self-concepts. The authors adopted this framework to the study of drug-prevention messages by examining the extent to which messages can alter the accessibility of views of self and of drugs that would support nonuse. Participants were exposed to 1 of 3 print-ad conditions: autonomy-themed prevention messages (treatment), health-information themed prevention messages (comparison), and informational consumer ads (control). Outcomes were reaction times to make dichotomous judgments. Relative to comparison and control ads, treatment ads were more successful at activating a self-view as a nonuser, a view that marijuana use is inconsistent with autonomy, and unwillingness to use marijuana. Post-hoc analysis revealed that the effect of ad condition on unwillingness was partially mediated by the accessibility of self-view as a nonuser.

Characterizing Drug Non-Users as Distinctive in Prevention Messages: Implications of Optimal Distinctiveness Theory

Optimal distinctiveness theory (ODT) posits that highly valued groups are those that can simultaneously satisfy needs to belong and to be different. The success of drug-prevention messages with a social-identity theme should therefore depend on the extent to which the group is portrayed as capable of meeting these needs. Specifically, messages that portray non-users as a large and undifferentiated majority may not be as successful as messages that emphasize uniqueness of non-users. This prediction was examined using marijuana prevention messages that depicted non-users as a distinctive or a majority group. Distinctiveness characterization lowered behavioral willingness to use marijuana among non-users (Experiment 1) and served as a source of identity threat (contingent on gender) among users (Experiment 2).

Effects of adverts from a drug and alcohol prevention campaign on willingness to engage in alcohol-related risky behaviors

Behavioral willingness is conceptualized as a pathway to behavior that is non-deliberative, yet traditional measures require thoughtful deliberation to complete. This study explored non-deliberative measures of alcohol-related willingness to complement recent work on marijuana-related willingness. The study also examined whether adverts from a field-tested drug and alcohol prevention campaign may have operated by influencing alcohol-related willingness. Participants viewed campaign adverts or consumer adverts (control). Outcomes were reaction times to make speeded judgments about whether one would engage in risky alcohol-related behaviors. Results showed that campaign advertisements lowered willingness to play drinking games and (for males) to drive while intoxicated.

Development of An Aspirational Campaign to Prevent Youth Substance Use: “Be under Your Own Influence”

We describe the development of a media campaign that decreased the uptake of substances by 40% among middle-school students. The campaign, “Be Under Your Own Influence,” is unique in its focus on the incongruence of drugs with achieving future aspirations and personal autonomy, themes which have received scant attention to date. Other distinctive features of the campaign include in-school distribution as well as media advocacy and other community-based efforts. The article will describe conceptual frameworks and formative research used to inform campaign development and implementation. The discussion will identify factors that may have enhanced success, as well as implications for social marketing efforts.

How does a risk-oriented "future self" influence behavior? A structural-equation-modeling approach with marijuana-related outcomes

A study was conducted to examine the influence of a risk-oriented future self on self-reported marijuana use among college students. Drawing on theoretical work on possible selves, it was hypothesized that the extent to which a future self is viewed as risk-oriented will be associated with reported marijuana use and that effects of a risk-oriented future self on use would be partially mediated by risk-oriented attitudes and perceived attractiveness of users. Analysis of data from an online survey of college students supported hypotheses, with the additional finding that the effect of user attractiveness on use is mediated by attitudes.

Examining Marijuana User and Non-User Prototypes in Formative Research for Prevention Campaigns.

We report on research—both quantitative and qualitative—conducted to explore perceptions of prototypes of marijuana users, as well as the extent to which self-prototype congruence predicted marijuana use intention. Results of a survey of undergraduates (N = 139) showed that prototypes of users and non-users differed in terms of key attributes, and that a greater match between ones self and user prototype would be associated with greater intention to use marijuana. In addition, exploratory analysis showed that males had higher ratings of user prototype social attractiveness compared to females overall, with the most pronounced differences between non-White males and non-White females. To probe these findings, two focus groups consisting of African-American males and females (N = 12) were conducted. Results indicated that social attractiveness of users was a common theme among males but not females. Implications for prevention programs and future research are discussed.

Identity as a Moderator and Mediator of Communication Effects: Evidence and Implications for Message Design

ABSTRACT Advertisements, movies, and other forms of media content have potential to change behaviors and antecedent psychological states by appealing to identity. However, the mechanisms that are responsible for persuasive effects of such content have not been adequately specified. A recently proposed model of communication effects (the prism model) advances the study of mechanisms and argues that identity can serve as both a moderator and mediator of communication effects on behavior-relevant outcomes. These intervening roles are made possible by the complex nature of identity (including multiple self-concepts and sensitivity to cues) and messages that cue the importance of and activate particular self-concepts. This article builds on development of the model by presenting empirical support based on re-analysis of an experiment in which participants viewed either a more-stigmatizing or less-stigmatizing portrayal of a recovering drug addict. In line with the models propositions, exposure to the less-stigmatizing condition led to increases in perspective taking which then led to more acceptance (mediation by identity), while level of perspective taking also changed the effect of condition on acceptance (moderation by identity). These results provide support for the models proposition of simultaneous intervening roles. The authors discuss implications for strategic communication research and practice.

Activated Self-Concept as a Mechanism Underlying Prevention Message Effects

Recent theorizing has posited that messages influence behavior via currently activated self-concepts. This proposition was tested in the context of evaluating real-world anti-marijuana television ads. A pretest yielded two themes (autonomy and responsibility) with two exemplars each. It was hypothesized that any effects of themes on behavioral willingness to use marijuana would be mediated by accessibility of a nonuser self-concept. An experiment was conducted in which participants (N = 129) viewed one of three clips that 1) contained embedded ads about nonuse supporting autonomy; 2) contained embedded ads about nonuse supporting responsibility to others; or 3) retained original commercials (control). Outcomes included reaction-time measures that assessed nonuser self-concept and willingness to use marijuana in social situations. Among those who identified as not a “druggie” and who were unwilling to smoke a joint at a party with friends, analyses revealed that exposure to the responsibility ads resulted in slower reaction times to endorse these positions, contrary to what might be expected from prevention messages. Among these participants, exposure effects on willingness were mediated by self-concept, as predicted.