Dataset Information

Media as a "Super Peer": How Adolescents Interpret Media Messages Predicts Their Perception of Alcohol and Tobacco Use Norms.

ABSTRACT: Adolescents' media environment offers information about who uses substances and what happens as a result-how youth interpret these messages likely determines their impact on normative beliefs about alcohol and tobacco use. The Message Interpretation Processing (MIP) theory predicts that substance use norms are influenced by cognitions associated with the interpretation of media messages. This cross-sectional study examined whether high school adolescents' (n?=?817, 48?% female, 64?% white) media-related cognitions (i.e., similarity, realism, desirability, identification) were related to their perceptions of substance use norms. Results revealed that adolescents' media-related cognitions explained a significant amount of variance in perceived social approval for and estimated prevalence of peer alcohol and tobacco use, above and beyond previous use and demographic covariates. Compared to prevalence norms, social approval norms were more closely related to adolescents' media-related cognitions. Results suggest that critical thinking about media messages can inhibit normative perceptions that are likely to increase adolescents' interest in alcohol and tobacco use.

SUBMITTER: Elmore KC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5243166 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Media as a "Super Peer": How Adolescents Interpret Media Messages Predicts Their Perception of Alcohol and Tobacco Use Norms.

Elmore Kristen C KC Scull Tracy M TM Kupersmidt Janis B JB

Journal of youth and adolescence 20161111 2

Adolescents' media environment offers information about who uses substances and what happens as a result-how youth interpret these messages likely determines their impact on normative beliefs about alcohol and tobacco use. The Message Interpretation Processing (MIP) theory predicts that substance use norms are influenced by cognitions associated with the interpretation of media messages. This cross-sectional study examined whether high school adolescents' (n = 817, 48 % female, 64 % white) media ...[more]

PMID: 27837371

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Project description:IntroductionDespite the potential of social media to influence public health and generate insights, the process of monitoring and analyzing the dissemination of health care messages on social media has been described as difficult and in need of improvement.ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to describe and demonstrate a reproducible methodology for cataloging and analyzing health care-related social media comments and provide insight into how clinicians and members of the general public respond to health care messaging on social media.MethodsWe collected social media comments related to the American Dental Association's 2016 "Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline for the Use of Pit-and-Fissure Sealants" between April 10, 2017, and October 31, 2017, from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, and online message boards for the New York Times, FiveThirtyEight, and Dentaltown. Using data provided in the comments, we conducted engagement analysis as well as content, network, and sentiment analysis across 8 categories.ResultsWe collected 671 comments. Among our findings, Facebook (472 of 671) was the most popular platform among commentators; almost half of all comments (335 of 671) aligned with the recommendations of the 2016 American Dental Association sealants guideline; clinicians were more likely than the general public to like a comment that suggested an improvement to the guideline; and >75% of comments (521 of 671) were supported by anecdotal evidence.ConclusionAs the prevalence of anecdotes on social media suggests, the likelihood of falsehoods spreading on social media is high. Insights gleaned from the methodology described in this research could help combat the spread of such misinformation by providing disseminators of health care messaging with insight into their target audiences. Armed with this knowledge, disseminators can craft health care messages that more effectively engage clinicians and the general public.Knowledge transfer statementThe methodology used in this research provides a reproducible strategy for tracking social media engagement with health care messages. Engagement results can assist future delivery of health care messages to key stakeholders and ensure better implementation and adoption of these communications.

Project description:BackgroundSocial media is a central context in which teens interact with their peers, creating opportunities for them to view, post, and engage with alcohol content. Because adolescent peer interactions largely occur on social media, perceptions of peer alcohol content posting may act as potent risk factors for adolescent alcohol use. Accordingly, the preregistered aims of this study were to (1) compare perceived friend, typical person, and an adolescent's own posting of alcohol content to social media and (2) examine how these perceptions prospectively relate to alcohol willingness, expectancies, and use after accounting for offline perceived peer alcohol use.MethodsThis longitudinal study included 435 adolescents (Mage = 16.91) in 11th (48%) and 12th grade (52%). Participants completed measures of alcohol content social media posts, perceived peer alcohol use, willingness to drink alcohol, alcohol expectancies, and alcohol use at two time points, 3 months apart.ResultsConsistent with preregistered hypotheses, adolescents reported that 60.3% of the typical person their age and 30.6% of their friends post alcohol content on social media. By contrast, only 7% of participants reported that they themselves posted such content to social media. After accounting for offline perceived peer drinking norms, neither perceived friend nor typical person alcohol content social media posts were prospectively associated with willingness to drink or positive or negative alcohol expectancies. Perceived friend alcohol content posts were prospectively positively associated with past 30-day alcohol consumption even after controlling for offline perceived peer drinking norms.ConclusionsAdolescents misperceived the frequency of alcohol-related posting to social media among their peers, and perceptions of friend alcohol content posts prospectively predicted alcohol use. Given the results from the current study and the ubiquity of social media among adolescents, prevention efforts may benefit from addressing misperceptions of alcohol-related posting to social media.

Project description:BackgroundTailored, web-assisted interventions can reach many smokers. Content from other smokers (peers) through crowdsourcing could enhance relevance.PurposeTo evaluate whether peers can generate tailored messages encouraging other smokers to use a web-assisted tobacco intervention (Decide2Quit.org).MethodsPhase 1: In 2009, smokers wrote messages in response to scenarios for peer advice. These smoker-to-smoker (S2S) messages were coded to identify themes. Phase 2: resulting S2S messages, and comparison expert messages, were then e-mailed to newly registered smokers. In 2012, subsequent Decide2Quit.org visits following S2S or expert-written e-mails were compared.ResultsPhase 1: a total of 39 smokers produced 2886 messages (message themes: attitudes and expectations, improvements in quality of life, seeking help, and behavioral strategies). For not-ready-to-quit scenarios, S2S messages focused more on expectations around a quit attempt and how quitting would change an individual's quality of life. In contrast, for ready-to-quit scenarios, S2S messages focused on behavioral strategies for quitting. Phase 2: In multivariable analysis, S2S messages were more likely to generate a return visit (OR=2.03, 95% CI=1.74, 2.35), compared to expert messages. A significant effect modification of this association was found, by time-from-registration and message codes (both interaction terms p<0.01). In stratified analyses, S2S codes that were related more to "social" and "real-life" aspects of smoking were driving the main association of S2S and increased return visits.ConclusionsS2S peer messages that increased longitudinal engagement in a web-assisted tobacco intervention were successfully collected and delivered. S2S messages expanded beyond the biomedical model to enhance relevance of messages.Trial registrationThis study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT00797628 (web-delivered provider intervention for tobacco control [QUIT-PRIMO]) and NCT01108432 (DPBRN Hygienists Internet Quality Improvement in Tobacco Cessation [HiQuit]).

Dataset Information

Media as a "Super Peer": How Adolescents Interpret Media Messages Predicts Their Perception of Alcohol and Tobacco Use Norms.

Publications

Media as a "Super Peer": How Adolescents Interpret Media Messages Predicts Their Perception of Alcohol and Tobacco Use Norms.

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