Patrick E. Jamieson

Media Contagion and Suicide Among the Young

Research continues to demonstrate that vulnerable youth are susceptible to the influence of reports and portrayals of suicide in the mass media. The evidence is stronger for the influence of reports in the news media than in fictional formats. However, several studies have found dramatic effects of televised portrayals that have led to increased rates of suicide and suicide attempts using the same methods displayed in the shows. Recent content analyses of newspapers and films in the United States reveal substantial opportunity for exposure to suicide, especially among young victims. One approach to reducing the harmful effects of media portrayals is to educate journalists and media programmers about ways to present suicide so that imitation will be minimized and help-seeking encouraged. Recently released recommendations for journalists are attached as an appendix. Similar initiatives with the entertainment industry would be highly desirable.

Teen driver crash risk and associations with smoking and drowsy driving

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for young people in the United States. The goal of this study was to identify risk factor profiles of teen and young adult drivers involved in crashes. General demographic and behavioral as well as driving-related factors were considered. Analysis of a nationally representative telephone survey of U.S. young drivers ages 14 to 22 (N=900) conducted in 2005 was restricted to 506 licensed drivers (learners excluded). Statistically significant univariate associations between factors of interest and the primary outcome, crash involvement (ever) as a driver, were identified and included within a multivariate logistic regression model, controlling for potential demographic confounders. Aside from length of licensure, only driving alone while drowsy and being a current smoker were associated with having been in a crash. Gaining a better understanding of these behaviors could enhance the development of more customized interventions for new drivers.

Trends of Sexual and Violent Content by Gender in Top-Grossing U.S. Films, 1950–2006

PURPOSE Because popular media such as movies can both reflect and contribute to changes in cultural norms and values, we examined gender differences and trends in the portrayal of sexual and violent content in top-grossing films from 1950 to 2006. METHODS The sample included 855 of the top-grossing films released over 57 years, from 1950 to 2006. The number of female and male main characters and their involvement in sexual and violent behavior were coded and analyzed over time. The relationships between sexual and violent behavior within films were also assessed. RESULTS The average number of male and female main characters in films has remained stable over time, with male characters outnumbering female characters by more than two to one. Female characters were twice as likely as male characters to be involved in sex, with differences in more explicit sex growing over time. Violence has steadily increased for both male and female characters. CONCLUSIONS Although women continue to be underrepresented in films, their disproportionate portrayal in more explicit sexual content has grown over time. Their portrayal in violent roles has also grown, but at the same rate as men. Implications of exposure to these trends among young movie-going men and women are discussed.

Unrealistic fatalism in U.S. youth ages 14 to 22: prevalence and characteristics

PURPOSE To estimate the proportion of U.S. youth that exhibits unrealistic fatalism about its future (not expecting to live past age 30), and to test predictions about risk factors for this expectation. METHODS Four waves of a nationally representative telephone survey from 2002 to 2005 with youth ages 14 to 22 (N = 4201) were analyzed using logistic regression to identify correlates and predictors of unrealistic fatalism. RESULTS Approximately 1 out of every 15 youth interviewed (6.7%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.9%, 7.5%) responded that they agreed they would not live much past the age of 30. Compared to other youth, fatalists were significantly more likely to be older, male, to identify as Hispanic, and have completed the interview in Spanish. As predicted, recent experience of hopelessness was a strong predictor of fatalism. In addition, nonwhite youth who had experienced hopelessness reported increasing rates of fatalism as they aged. Fatalistic youth engaged in greater suicidal planning, had more accepting attitudes toward suicide, were less attached to religion, and were more impulsive than other youth. Approximately 43% of fatalists forecast a likely death by suicide, whereas the rest anticipated death by an outside source. Fatalists were also more likely not to stay in school. CONCLUSIONS Because youth exhibiting fatalism are at risk for not staying in school and suicidal planning, they should be identified at an early age for referral to programs that are effective in treating youth with hopelessness and suicidal tendencies.

Violent film characters' portrayal of alcohol, sex, and tobacco-related behaviors

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which movies popular with adolescents feature characters who jointly engage in violence and other risk behaviors. We hypothesized that violent characters engage in other risk behaviors equally often in films rated appropriate for children over 12 (PG-13) and Restricted (R)-rated films. METHODS: Content analysis of a sample of top-grossing movies from 1985 to 2010 (n = 390). We coded movies for the presence of at least 1 main character who was involved in violence and either sex, tobacco, or alcohol use within a 5-minute movie segment and throughout a film. RESULTS: Approximately 90% of the movies contained a segment with a main character involved in violence, and ∼77% of the films had the same character engaging in at least 1 other risk behavior. A violent character was portrayed most often partaking in alcohol-related and sexual behaviors. G and PG movies had less co-occurrence than PG-13 or R-rated movies, but there was no statistical difference between PG-13 and R-rated movies with regards to violence co-occurring with other risk behaviors. These trends did not vary over time. CONCLUSIONS: Popular films that contain violent characters also show those characters engaging in other risk behaviors. Similar rates of co-occurrence between PG-13 and R-rated films suggest that the Motion Picture Association of America ratings system is not sensitive to the joint portrayal of violence and alcohol, sex, and tobacco-related risk behaviors. The on-screen clustering of violence with other risk behaviors is cause for concern and worthy of additional research.

Parental Desensitization to Violence and Sex in Movies

OBJECTIVES: To assess desensitization in parents’ repeated exposure to violence and sex in movies. METHODS: A national US sample of 1000 parents living with at least 1 target child in 1 of 3 age groups (6 to 17 years old) viewed a random sequence of 3 pairs of short scenes with either violent or sexual content from popular movies that were unrestricted to youth audiences (rated PG-13 or unrated) or restricted to those under age 17 years without adult supervision (rated R). Parents indicated the minimum age they would consider appropriate to view each film. Predictors included order of presentation, parent and child characteristics, and parent movie viewing history. RESULTS: As exposure to successive clips progressed, parents supported younger ages of appropriate exposure, starting at age 16.9 years (95% confidence interval [CI], 16.8 to 17.0) for violence and age 17.2 years (95% CI, 17.0 to 17.4) for sex, and declining to age 13.9 years (95% CI, 13.7 to 14.1) for violence and 14.0 years (95% CI, 13.7 to 14.3) for sex. Parents also reported increasing willingness to allow their target child to view the movies as exposures progressed. Desensitization was observed across parent and child characteristics, violence toward both human and non-human victims, and movie rating. Those who frequently watched movies were more readily desensitized to violence. CONCLUSIONS: Parents become desensitized to both violence and sex in movies, which may contribute to the increasing acceptance of both types of content by both parents and the raters employed by the film industry.

Portrayal of tobacco use in prime-time TV dramas: trends and associations with adult cigarette consumption—USA, 1955–2010

Objective Although portrayal of television (TV) and movie tobacco use has been linked with initiation of cigarette smoking in adolescents, its association with smoking in adults has not been assessed. Therefore, we examined long-term and annual changes in tobacco portrayal in popular US TV dramas and their associations with comparable trends in national adult cigarette consumption. Methods Tobacco use in 1838 h of popular US TV dramas was coded from 1955–2010. The long-term trend and annual deviations from trend were studied in relation to comparable trends in adult per capita cigarette consumption using correlational and time-series methods that controlled for other potential predictors. Results TV tobacco portrayal has trended downward since 1955 in line with the historical trend in cigarette consumption. Controlling for changes in cigarette prices and other factors, annual changes of one tobacco instance per episode hour across 2 years of programming were associated with annual change of 38.5 cigarettes per US adult. The decline in TV tobacco portrayal was associated with nearly half the effect of increases in cigarette prices over the study period. Conclusions The correlation between tobacco portrayal in TV dramas and adult cigarette consumption is consistent with well-established effects of exposure to tobacco cues that create craving for cigarettes in adult smokers. Although tobacco use in TV dramas along with movies has declined over time, portrayal of smoking on screen media should be a focus for future adult tobacco control research and policy.

Alcohol, Sex, and Screens: Modeling Media Influence on Adolescent Alcohol and Sex Co-Occurrence

Alcohol use and sexual behavior are important risk behaviors in adolescent development, and combining the two is common. The reasoned action approach (RAA) is used to predict adolescents’ intention to combine alcohol use and sexual behavior based on exposure to alcohol and sex combinations in popular entertainment media. We conducted a content analysis of mainstream (n = 29) and Black-oriented movies (n = 34) from 2014 and 2013–2014, respectively, and 56 television shows (2014–2015 season). Content analysis ratings featuring character portrayals of both alcohol and sex within the same five-minute segment were used to create exposure measures that were linked to online survey data collected from 1,990 adolescents ages 14 to 17 years old (50.3% Black, 49.7% White; 48.1% female). Structural equation modeling (SEM) and group analysis by race were used to test whether attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral control mediated the effects of media exposure on intention to combine alcohol and sex. Results suggest that for both White and Black adolescents, exposure to media portrayals of alcohol and sex combinations is positively associated with adolescents’ attitudes and norms. These relationships were stronger among White adolescents. Intention was predicted by attitude, norms, and control, but only the attitude–intention relationship was different by race group (stronger for Whites).

The Continuing Rise of Gun Violence in PG-13 Movies, 1985 to 2015

* Abbreviations: PG-13 — : parental guidance for children under age 13 years R — : restricted to age 17 years and older unless accompanied by an adult The Motion Picture Association of America created the parental guidance for children under age 13 years (PG-13) movie rating in 1984 to “strongly” caution parents about content that may not be suited for children of that age. According to that industry-supported group, “There may be depictions of violence in a PG-13 movie, but generally not both realistic and extreme or persistent violence,” (www.filmratings.com). Unlike PG-13 films, which are open to all, those rated R can only be seen in theaters by those under 17 years who are accompanied by a parent or other adult. In a 2013 issue of Pediatrics ,1 … Address correspondence to Daniel Romer, PhD, Annenberg Public Policy Center, 202 S. 36th St, Philadelphia, PA 19104. E-mail: dan.romer{at}appc.upenn.edu

Counteracting the Influence of Peer Smoking on YouTube

YouTube, a popular online site for user-generated content, is emerging as a powerful source of peer modeling of smoking. Previous research suggests that in counteracting such influence, health messages may inadvertently increase the perceived prevalence of drug use (a descriptive norm) without reducing its acceptability (injunctive norm). This research tested the ability of health messages to reduce the social acceptability of peer smoking on YouTube despite enhancing its perceived prevalence. In an online experiment with 999 adolescents, participants were randomly assigned to view one of two videos: (a) a mosaic displaying a variety of YouTube videos of adolescents smoking followed by a message about the mortality risk to those smokers, or (b) a control video on a health topic unrelated to smoking. Although exposure to the adolescent YouTube smokers increased perceived prevalence among some participants, it simultaneously increased beliefs about smoking’s adverse health outcomes and negative attitudes toward smoking, effects that were associated with reductions in injunctive norms of social acceptability. Interventions that communicate the severity and scope of health risks associated with smoking may undercut the descriptive normative effects of peer modeling of smoking on social media sites such as YouTube.