Sarah N. Keller

Unintended Effects of a Domestic Violence Campaign

This paper reports findings from a media intervention designed to raise awareness about domestic violence and to prevent abuse. The campaign included four television advertisements, one billboard, a poster, and newspaper ads. A quasi-experimental, in-field approach was used to assess campaign effects. The study analyzes the effects of campaign exposure on awareness, perceived threat, and efficacy. Results obtained using analysis of covariance indicate that male and female attitudes were significantly different following campaign exposure. Women (but not men) increased their perceived severity of domestic violence and awareness of services from pretest to posttest. The campaign appeared to have effectively reached women. By contrast, male attitudes moved in the opposite direction from pre- to posttest, or did not change. A comparison of means confirmed these findings and also showed that women increased their belief in the effectiveness of services. The authors draw comparisons between male and female reactions and offer some suggestions for new strategies to address audience beliefs about domestic violence.

Creating and executing an applied interdisciplinary campaign for domestic violence prevention

This article describes an interdisciplinary, experiential learning project that combined marketing and communications courses at a state university. Two professors from different colleges partnered with a domestic violence center to enable students to create a community-based social marketing campaign. Student assessments indicated success in achieving educational objectives and practical knowledge. The resulting multimedia campaign was well received throughout the state and illustrates opportunities for developing interdisciplinary knowledge and teaching in business and communication studies.

Navigating the gender minefield: An IPV prevention campaign sheds light on the gender gap.

This article examines how differences in male and female views about intimate partner violence (IPV) contributed to divergent responses to a prevention campaign conducted in the western USA. The study examines focus groups (n = 22) and in-depth interview data (n = 13) collected during campaign development to shed light on quantitative results indicating that women (but not men) increased their perceived severity of domestic violence and awareness of services from pre-test to post-test, while male attitudes moved in the opposite direction. Results of the qualitative study provide the basis for the authors’ conclusions about why reactions differed: (1) men’s unwillingness to view abuse within a gender context limits men’s ability to accept the inequity in statistically demonstrated male and female roles as perpetrators and victims; (2) male resentment of existing gender stereotypes contributed to a rejection of campaign messages that utilised gender prevalence statistics to depict images showing men as perpetrators and women as victims; and (3) victim blaming attitudes contributed to resistance to empathy for victims depicted in the campaign. The authors offer suggestions for future campaigns that foster agency among both perpetrators and survivors while confronting the structural barriers to enacting change.

A theater intervention to promote communication and disclosure of suicidal ideation

ABSTRACT Young adults from Montana have a higher rate of suicide than their national counterparts. There is a clear need for targeted interventions to address this disparity. The authors evaluate a community-based, narrative theater project designed to increase awareness and use of suicide-prevention resources among eastern Montana youth. As a first step, seven group interviews with Montana young adults (n = 27) were conducted to identify current perceptions about suicide and suicide prevention. Interviews were conducted before and after subjects were exposed to a community-based theater production about suicide. Emergent thematic categories were organized using the four main constructs of the extended parallel process model. After the performance, participants expressed increased awareness of prevention resources; perceived susceptibility to the threat of suicide and depression; and self-efficacy for accessing help and assisting others. There were mixed results for perceived response efficacy. Implications and recommendations for intervention development are discussed.

Preventing suicide in Montana: a community-based theatre intervention

Purpose This study examined whether a community-based suicide prevention project could increase willingness to seek professional help for suicidal ideation among eastern Montana youth. Design Online surveys were administered at baseline (N = 224) and six months post-test (N = 217) consisting of the Risk Behavior Diagnosis Scale (RBD), self-report questions on suicidality, willingness to engage with suicide prevention resources, and willingness to communicate with peers, family members, teachers or counselors about suicide. Findings A comparison of means within groups from pre- to post-test showed increases in self-efficacy for communicating about suicidal concerns with a teacher, school counselor or social worker; increases in self-efficacy for helping others; and increases in response-efficacy of interpersonal communication about suicide with a teacher, school counselor or social worker. Practical Implications Young adults need to be willing and able to intervene in life-threatening situations affecting their peers. In step with narrative empowerment education, personal experiences can be used to communicatively reduce peer resistance to behavior change. Originality Health communicators tend to rely on overly didactic education and awareness-raising when addressing suicide prevention. This research shows the importance of direct and personal forms of influence advocated by social marketing professionals.

Variations in involvement: motivating bystanders to care for senior citizens

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a senior service advertising campaign designed to increase volunteerism and financial donations among bystanders. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH A cross-sectional mail survey was administered to 2,500 adults; 384 usable responses were obtained. Survey responses were analyzed by level of exposure and involvement in senior care. FINDINGS High involvement individuals viewed the ads more favorably and exhibited stronger senior caretaking intentions. Low-involvement consumers were less likely to see their own potential contributions to senior care services as effective. RESULTS/IMPLICATIONS It is argued that nonparticipants in prosocial helping may fail to notice the need (low awareness), fail to view the cause as urgent (low perceived susceptibility), or have low prior experience with the issue. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS A typology of involvement could be developed that can be used for audience segmentation in marketing health behaviors to bystanders. ORIGINALITY With limited theoretical and practical guidance on how to motivate bystanders to engage in prosocial behaviors, health communicators and marketers are challenged to tap into the vital resource that bystanders potentially could provide. The research reviewed and presented here indicates hope for engaging the public to become active players in making the nation a safer and healthier place.