Steven R. Thomsen

Motivations for Reading Beauty and Fashion Magazines and Anorexic Risk in College-Age Women

A growing body of research has linked the reading of womens beauty and fashion magazines with the presence of eating-disordered thinking. Most of this research has focused on the relationship between the frequency with which women read and their potential anorexic risk. In the present study, the authors explore the connection between the motivations for reading and the presence of anorexic cognitions. Specifically, this study of 536 college-age women sought to determine which reading motivations might be the most p redictive of anorexic risk and whether those motivations would be differentially related to reading frequency and to scores on the Mizes Anorectic Cognitions Scale (MACS). To test the simultaneous contribution of the possible reading motivations on the two outcomes of interest, a structural equation model using AMOS 4.0 was generated. The findings from the model indicate that reading frequency and anorexic risk are largely predicted by divergent motivational factors. The reading frequency of beauty and fashion magazines was most strongly predicted by a womans desire for selfimprovement. Anorexic risk, as measured by MACS scores, was best predicted

Health and Beauty Magazine Reading and Body Shape Concerns among a Group of College Women.

Research indicates that exposure to thin ideal images in womens magazines is associated with heightened concerns for body shape and size in a number of young women, although the medias role in the psychopathology of body image disturbance is generally believed to be mediated by personality and sociocultural factors. Here, data from a survey of 340 college-age women (ages 18–25) were used to test a structural equation model that examined three potential factors—hope, beliefs about mens expectations for female thinness, and expected weight gain or loss in five years—that might mediate the relationship between reading womens magazines and body shape and size concerns. The study found health and fitness magazine reading was linked directly to body shape concerns as well as indirectly through beliefs about mens thinness expectations and to a lesser degree through expected future weight gain or loss. Beauty and fashion magazine reading, however, was linked to body shape concerns only indirectly via beliefs about mens thinness expectations. Hope was not influenced directly by reading either type of magazine, nor did it mediate the relationship between reading and body shape concerns.

Adolescents' attention to traditional and graphic tobacco warning labels: an eye-tracking approach.

The objective of this study was determine if the inclusion of Canadian-style graphic images would improve the degree to which adolescents attend to, and subsequently are able to recall, novel warning messages in tobacco magazine advertising. Specifically, our goal was to determine if the inclusion of graphic images would 1) increase visual attention, as measured by eye movement patterns and fixation density, and 2) improve memory for tobacco advertisements among a group of 12 to 14 year olds in the western United States. Data were collected from 32 middle school students using a head-mounted eye-tracking device that recorded viewing time, scan path patterns, fixation locations, and dwell time. Participants viewed a series of 20 magazine advertisements that included five U.S. tobacco ads with traditional Surgeon General warning messages and five U.S. tobacco ads that had been modified to include non-traditional messages and Canadian-style graphic images. Following eye tracking, participants completed unaided- and aided-recall exercises. Overall, the participants spent equal amounts of time viewing the advertisements regardless of the type of warning message. However, the warning messages that included the graphic images generated higher levels of visual attention directed specifically toward the message, based on average dwell time and fixation frequency, and were more likely to be accurately recalled than the traditional warning messages.

Print, Broadcast and Online Convergence in the Newsroom:

Many colleges and universities training student journalists in campus media organizations are considering converging print, broadcast, and online into one organization to adapt to industry trends and the new technological environment. Some are asking prudent questions (Pratte,1997) about why journalism educators should undertake such a paradigm shattering activity how print, online, and broadcast can merge, how the new organization will run, and what problems to expect. Over five years, students and faculty at Brigham Young University created a converged newsroom that brought together student broadcast, print, and online journalism into one organization. This article examines the convergence experiment using data gathered from stakeholder interviews, document analysis, observation, and a survey of students. In the first section we discuss the industry and technology-driven rationale converging newsrooms in educational institutions. The second section of this article examines the first steps toward convergence using the future search process and whole systems planning. The third section describes the generic changes in converged newsrooms and the editorial process flow in the BYU newsroom. The final section examines problems created by convergence, including the identity and commitment of students, alignment with industry and curriculum, and the increased complexity of processes. There are immense time and resource costs associated with creating converged newsrooms in colleges and universities. Prior to initiating a convergence project, institutions should consider factors externally and internally driving convergence. External forces The last century has seen an evolution to newsroom organizations from competitive to cooperative and now, in some cases, to convergence. Competition between newspapers in the United States was the norm for more than 300 years (Shudson, 1995). During that time, journalists forged the way for many freedoms and rights under which all forms of mass media are protected today (Weaver & Wilhoit, 1986). In the 1920s and 30s the immediacy of radio began to affect newspapers circulation, and publishers had difficulty adjusting to the new competitive marketplace (Beasley, 1996). With television in the early 1950s, came a new and even more powerful competitor, and since then each medium has battled for market share (Boyd, 1993). But economic forces and new technological capabilities in the 80s and 90s brought some of the once competing media organizations under the same cooperative roof. Gannett, The Chicago Tribune Company, and others initiated cooperation between their electronic media holdings and print holdings in order to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace. These cooperations kept the media organizations separate but found strategic touch points where information could be shared to make both organizations more competitive (Hammond and Porter, 1997). In the 90s increased return on investment expectations (Pavlik, 1996) and the emergence of the Internet has pressured media organizations to converge under the same organization. Pew Center Research (1998) indicates almost half of Americans are online. Information specific to the interests of the user, such as stock quotes, weather, traffic, etc., has drawn a large audience to Web sites. The Pew research suggests that increased Internet use creates an appetite for in-depth reporting and may channel readers to newspapers and magazines. It may also reduce time spent watching television. More are obtaining news from broadcast news Web site for (22%) and national newspaper Web site (16%) than Web site without affiliation (1998). This trend is important because it shows that the consumption patterns of news are changing. No longer are readers or viewers medium loyalists. A reader/viewer will see a story on one medium and follow the story, based on their own interests to another medium to get other views or greater depth. …

The Influence of Religiosity on Reaction to Alcohol Advertisements and Current Drinking Among Seventh and Eighth Graders

This study explored the impact of religiosity on adolescent perceptions of alcohol-related advertising. Data were collected via a survey administered to 972 seventh and eighth graders at 6 schools in 2 western states. Students who reported being less religious were more likely to believe alcohol ads reflect reality, present situations similar to their own lives, and use characters who possess desirable traits worth emulating more so than those who reported being more religious. Less religious students were also more likely to believe that drinking is a normal part of teenage life and that it brings about positive outcomes. Hierarchical logistic regression indicated that those respondents who reported being less religious were more likely to have consumed an alcoholic beverage in the 30-day period prior to the administration of the survey than those who reported being more religious.

The Relationship between Health and Fitness Magazine Reading and Eating-Disordered Weight-Loss Methods among High School Girls

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between reading womens health and fitness magazines and the use of eating-disordered diet methods (laxatives, appetite suppressants/diet pills, intentional vomiting, and restricting calories to 1,200 a day or less) among a group of 498 adolescent girls at two western U.S. high schools. The authors found moderate to strong positive associations between reading frequency and the use of these unhealthy weight-control practices, which are often the first steps toward the development of eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. Frequent readers also scored significantly higher on the Mizes Anorectic Cognitions Scale, which measures the presence of eating-disordered cognitions, than moderate or infrequent readers.

Entertainment and music magazine reading and binge drinking among a group of juvenile offenders.

This study examines the relative contribution of exposure to entertainment and music magazines on binge drinking among a group of teenagers under the supervision of a juvenile court system in a medium-sized western United States community. Despite having a large proportion of adolescent readers, entertainment and music magazines typically include a substantial number of advertisements for alcoholic beverages in each issue. Data were collected via a self-report questionnaire administered to 342 juvenile offenders (ages 12-18 years). Three-quarters of our respondents reported they have used alcohol and about 37% indicated they were binge drinkers. As anticipated, binge drinkers were more frequent readers of entertainment and music magazines than non-binge drinkers. Binge drinkers also estimated that larger portions of their classmates used alcohol and would be more accepting of regular drinking than non-binge drinkers. Results of a multivariate logistic regression analysis to predict whether our subjects typically consumed five or more drinks during a drinking episode indicated that perceived ease of access, age, gender, the number of best friends who drink, parental drinking (inversely), and entertainment and music magazine reading frequency were significant predictors of binge drinking. We conclude that the predictive influence entertainment and music magazine reading frequency may actually reflect a selectivity bias among a segment of the youth sub-culture already inclined toward alcohol use and abuse. We recommend that entertainment and music magazine reading should be considered only within the constellation of other risk factors when assessing risk for potential alcohol abuse.

Using "Bud World Party" attendance to predict adolescent alcohol use and beliefs about drinking.

This study explored the association between attendance at the “Bud World Party,” a family entertainment venue created by Anheuser-Busch for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and alcohol-related beliefs and current drinking behaviors for a group of 7th and 8th graders who attend a middle school in close proximity to the downtown Salt Lake City plaza where the exhibit and related events were located. Data were collected via a questionnaire administered to 283 students 30 days after the closing ceremonies. Logistic regression was used to predict recent alcohol consumption. Significant predictors were race (non-white) (OR = 3.9), religiosity (OR = .72), having a parent who drinks (OR = 4.8), the number of best friends who drink (OR = 2.5), and the interaction for “Bud World Party” attendance and gender (OR = 33.2). Post-hoc analysis of the interaction effect indicated that the relationship between “Bud World Party” attendance and recent alcohol consumption is moderated by gender. Girls who visited “Bud World Party” were more likely than the boys to have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days. In addition, the girls who visited “Bud World Party” were more likely to believe that drinking would increase their chances of popularity at school than the students who did not.

The Differential Effects of Exposure to “Youth-Oriented” Magazines on Adolescent Alcohol Use

This study examines the effects of exposure to “youth-oriented” magazines on normative beliefs about teenage drinking, drinking expectancies, and drinking frequency during the past 30 days among a group of 972 seventh- and eighth-grade students from two Western U.S. states. Three magazine categories were considered: music/entertainment, sports, and mens lifestyle. Structural equation modeling was used to test the simultaneous influences (direct and indirect) of magazine exposure, religiosity, parental drinking, and the number of best friends who drink on the three outcome variables (normative beliefs, expectancies, and current drinking). Exposure to each magazine type was tested in a separate model. Mens lifestyle magazine reading frequency was positively associated (both directly and indirectly) with all three outcomes. Music and entertainment magazine reading was positively linked to normative beliefs and drinking expectancies, but was unrelated to drinking frequency in the past 30 days. Sports magazine reading was unrelated to the three outcomes.

Pop Music and the Search for the Numinous: Exploring the Emergence of the “Secular Hymn” in Post-Modern Culture

ABSTRACT A growing body of research suggests that traditional religious institutions are failing to meet the spiritual needs of their adherents, who are now abandoning traditional worship and turning to pop music to fill the void. This article defines and explores the phenomenon of the “secular hymn.” While nonreligious in nature or intent, the secular hymn is a pop song that allows the listener to experience the numinous by creating an affective state that parallels a spiritual or religious state of mind. This article outlines the phenomenon of the secular hymn in pop culture, defines its characteristics, and evaluates several pop songs against these criteria. While some secular hymns may be used in some church settings, the overall trend may exemplify the continuing erosion of traditional religion and the use of explicitly religious music in both public and private settings.