Stacey J. T. Hust

Patient-Blaming and Representation of Risk Factors in Breast Cancer Images

ABSTRACT Media coverage of some cancers in the past often equated cancer with a death sentence. Breast cancer coverage in 1990s magazines, however, has become less fatalistic, more frequent, and discusses a broader range of issues than before. This study examined whether the visual images accompanying magazine articles about breast cancer have also evolved. We used Goffmans (1976) rituals of subordination to measure patient-blaming and subordinating, disempowering images. We also analyzed race/ethnicity, body type, and age of females in the images to gauge whether these demographic risk factors were represented in a random sample of images from nine magazines over a 30-year period. Magazines analyzed represented three genres-womens magazines, fashion/beauty, and general news. Findings suggest that patient-blaming images have decreased in some categories and women portrayed are slightly more representative of risk factors of age and race/ethnicity. Magazine images tended to reinforce stereotyped portrayals of femininity to the detriment of cancer patients. Fashion/beauty magazines, aimed at younger women, were most likely to portray breast cancer images in stereotyped, patient-blaming ways, with the least representative images of risk factors. The social construction of feminine beauty seems to overpower accuracy in creating these images.

Effects of Violence Against Women in Popular Crime Dramas on Viewers' Attitudes Related to Sexual Violence

In a posttest-only group experimental design, 176 college undergraduates (80 male, 96 female) watched TV crime drama scenes, which included either sexual or physical violence against women, to determine the effects of crime dramas on enjoyment, gender stereotypes, acceptance of the objectification of women, and rape myth acceptance. Male participants who watched sexual violence clips expressed less support for traditional gender stereotypes. There were no significant condition effects for the remaining outcome measures among the male participants except that they perceived the physical violence clips to be the most enjoyable. Results for female participants were mixed. Implications are discussed within the frameworks of social cognitive theory and the potential benefits of well-designed crime dramas to address sexual violence against women.

Establishing and adhering to sexual consent: the association between reading magazines and college students' sexual consent negotiation.

Content analyses have cataloged the sexual scripts present in magazines largely because of their perceived value to readers and their potential role as sex educators. Although it is generally agreed that magazines have the potential to influence sexual attitudes and behavioral intentions, the effects of this medium are not as frequently researched as are other forms of media. The current study tested whether exposure to magazines was associated with intentions related to sexual consent negotiation. A survey of 313 college students indicated that exposure to mens magazines was significantly associated with lower intentions to seek sexual consent and lower intentions to adhere to decisions about sexual consent. In contrast, exposure to womens magazines was significantly associated with greater intentions to refuse unwanted sexual activity. Overall, the findings of this study further reinforce the critical need for responsible and realistic portrayals of sex in entertainment media, specifically magazines.

The Locus of Message Meaning: Differences between Trained Coders and Untrained Message Recipients in the Analysis of Alcoholic Beverage Advertising

Media scholars often warn against inferring effects when examining media content because message meaning depends on the interpretations of message receivers. Unfortunately, typical message receivers and trained coders conducting content analyses are likely to perceive messages differently because of varying perspectives and processing strategies. Accordingly, this study examined the extent to which trained coders and untrained message receivers converged in their coding of print-based alcohol advertisements. Results from a traditional content analysis of 40 randomly selected print alcohol ads using two sets of trained coders were compared with results from a receiver-oriented message analysis, which used typical message-receivers (n = 520) as coders. Significance tests indicated that message receivers and trained coders disagreed frequently-often dramatically-on virtually all types of content. Of particular interest, message receivers tended to perceive more frequent portrayals of underage individuals, more appeal to underage drinkers, more frequent sexual connotations, more frequent messages that encouraged drinking a lot of alcohol, and fewer moderation messages. The results demonstrate that potential differences in processing strategy and perspective between trained coders and message receivers can lead to very different conclusions that have implications for the understanding of message effects.

Law & Order, CSI, and NCIS: The Association Between Exposure to Crime Drama Franchises, Rape Myth Acceptance, and Sexual Consent Negotiation Among College Students

Previous research has identified that exposure to the crime drama genre lowers rape myth acceptance and increases sexual assault prevention behaviors such as bystander intervention. However, recent content analyses have revealed marked differences in the portrayal of sexual violence within the top three crime drama franchises. Using a survey of 313 college freshmen, this study explores the influence of exposure to the three most popular crime drama franchises: Law & Order, CSI, and NCIS. Findings indicate that exposure to the Law & Order franchise is associated with decreased rape myth acceptance and increased intentions to adhere to expressions of sexual consent and refuse unwanted sexual activity; whereas exposure to the CSI franchise is associated with decreased intentions to seek consent and decreased intentions to adhere to expressions of sexual consent. Exposure to the NCIS franchise was associated with decreased intentions to refuse unwanted sexual activity. These results indicate that exposure to the specific content of each crime drama franchise may have differential results on sexual consent negotiation behaviors.

Rape Myth Acceptance, Efficacy, and Heterosexual Scripts in Men’s Magazines Factors Associated With Intentions to Sexually Coerce or Intervene

Sexual coercion has gained researchers’ attention as an underreported form of sexual abuse or harm. The percentage of male and female college students who reported engaging in sexual coercion was as high as 82% for verbally coercive behaviors over the course of a year. Guided by heterosexual scripting theory and the integrated model of behavioral prediction, we examine potential factors associated with college students’ intentions to sexually coerce or to intervene when friends plan to sexually coerce (bystander intention). Factors included young college students’ beliefs about rape myth acceptance, perceived norms, efficacy to reduce sexual-assault risk, and exposure to men’s and women’s magazines. As predicted, results indicate rape myth acceptance was positively associated with intentions to sexually coerce, and negatively associated with bystander intentions to intervene. Students’ efficacy to reduce sexual-assault risk was negatively associated with intentions to sexually coerce, and positively associated with bystander intentions. Exposure to the heterosexual scripts in men’s magazines, which connect sexual prowess to masculinity, was associated with intentions to sexually coerce. Exposure to magazines was not associated with bystander intentions to intervene. Overall, an understanding of the independent contribution of these factors toward sexual coercion and intervention has implications for dating violence prevention programming.

Chinese Newspapers' Coverage of HIV Transmission over a Decade (2000–2010): Where HIV Stigma Arises

Recent studies have revealed serious HIV stigmatization in Chinese media discourse. The current study extends previous research by exploring how HIV transmission was portrayed in Chinese media discourse, particularly how the media framed HIV transmission for people living with HIV (PLHIV) and affected groups. The study used quantitative content analysis to examine articles published in each of the eight Chinese news outlets one week before and one week after World AIDS Day every other year from 2000 to 2010. The results suggest that Chinese newspaper articles label PLHIV and stereotype certain social groups to reinforce an “us versus them” dichotomy. Chinese media promote two different views of PLHIV that are dependent on the manner in which people contracted HIV. Individuals who contracted HIV through socially acceptable means (e.g., blood transfusion) were worthy of being featured. In contrast, individuals who contracted HIV through socially unacceptable means (e.g., intravenous drug use) were less likely to be identified as individuals and were instead devalued as nondescript members of a deviant and dangerous group. This dichotomy reinforces HIV stigmatization and will mitigate Chinas anti-stigma efforts. The study provides health care professionals and anti-stigma advocates a specific picture of HIV stigmatization in the Chinese media context.

Sexual objectification in music videos and acceptance of potentially offensive sexual behaviors.

Little is known about how adolescent and college-aged women interpret music media or how their perceptions of music media are related to their acceptance of physical or nonphysical forms of sexual behavior by male peers. Adolescent and emerging adult women (n = 259) viewed and responded to randomly selected music videos. Results from MANCOVA indicate that viewers’ perceptions of women in music videos differed by age/social context and, after accounting for their perceptions of the videos’ entertainment value and realism, differed within the music video sets. College women were more likely than high-school-aged women to perceive women in music videos as attractive and powerful. Viewers were more likely to perceive women in music videos to be attractive when they also perceived them to be sexual objects but not when they perceived the women in music videos to be powerful. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that participants who accepted sexual objectification and who were entertained by the music videos were less likely to be offended by nonphysical potentially offensive sexual behaviors (POSB) such as dirty jokes or cat calls. Women who accepted sexual objectification of women and perceived the music videos to be realistic were less likely to be offended by physical POSB (e.g., being touched or grabbed, unwanted sexual advances). Results suggest that personal attitudes and finding music videos to be entertaining or realistic may together inform attitudes that normalize the acceptance of POSB.

The Entertainment-Education Strategy in Sexual Assault Prevention: A Comparison of Theoretical Foundations and a Test of Effectiveness in a College Campus Setting

Among the existing sexual assault prevention efforts on college campuses, few use mass communication strategies designed to simultaneously entertain and educate. Although many entertainment-education efforts are guided by social cognitive theory, other theories may be useful in entertainment-education design. Previous research has found that social cognitive theory and social norms theory can successfully influence participants’ perceived norms and efficacy related to sexual assault reduction; however, whether such results can be replicated in a naturalistic setting and the extent to which the guiding theoretical foundation may influence outcomes remain unknown. We used a pre- and posttest field experiment with college students in residence halls to assess how different theoretical foundations may influence effects. Over the course of a semester, the participants viewed eight mini-magazines developed using (1) social cognitive theory, (2) social norms theory, (3) a combination of both theoretical frameworks, or (4) a control condition with no sexual assault prevention messaging. Participants in the combined content condition had greater levels of self-efficacy related to sexual assault prevention and more accurate norm perceptions. There were also effects for the mini-magazines developed with only one theoretical framework. Overall, we found that multiple theories can effectively guide entertainment-education message development.