To vape or not to vape? Effects of exposure to conflicting news headlines on beliefs about harms and benefits of electronic cigarette use: Results from a randomized controlled experiment
To vape or not to vape? Effects of exposure to conflicting news headlines on beliefs about harms and benefits of electronic cigarette use: Results from a randomized controlled experiment
复制标题
DOI：
10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.08.024
复制
发表时间：
2017-12-01
影响因子：
5.1
通讯作者：
Bigman, Cabral A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Tan, Andy S. L.;Lee, Chul-joo;Bigman, Cabral A.
对包括电子烟在内的新型烟草产品的新闻报道，对这些产品的使用既有正面的，也有负面的。相互冲突的信息可能会影响公众对电子烟的了解、看法及其危害。这项研究的目的是评估接触相互冲突的新闻报道对美国成年人关于使用电子烟的危害和好处的信念的影响。我们在2016年进行了一项受试者之间的单向随机对照实验，以比较观看1)正面、2)负面、3)关于使用电子烟安全性的正面和负面(冲突)新闻标题或4)无消息的效果。参与者是来自在线调查小组的2056名18岁及以上的成年人。结果是关于使用电子烟的危害(3项量表，阿尔法=0.76)和好处(3项量表，阿尔法=0.82)的信念。与观看负面新闻的参与者相比，观看负面新闻的参与者报告了对危害的更多信念(B=0.164，p=0.039)，而对电子烟的好处的信念更低(B=-0.216，p=0.009)。这些差异在从未使用电子烟的亚组分析中得到了复制。此外，从未看过相互矛盾的标题的电子烟使用者报告说，他们对电子烟使用的好处的信念(B=-0.221，p=0.030)低于正面标题的情况。关于电子烟的新闻报道的价值(积极的、消极的或相互冲突的)可能会影响人们对电子烟使用的危害和好处的信念。
News coverage of novel tobacco products including e-cigarettes has framed the use of these products with both positive and negative slants. Conflicting information may shape public knowledge, perceptions of e-cigarettes, and their harms. The objective of this study is to assess effects of exposure to conflicting news coverage on US adults' beliefs about harms and benefits of e-cigarette use. We conducted a one-way between-subjects randomized controlled experiment in 2016 to compare the effects of viewing either 1) positive, 2) negative, 3) both positive and negative (conflicting) news headlines about the safety of using e-cigarettes, or 4) no-message. Participants were 2056 adults aged 18 and older from an online survey panel. Outcomes were beliefs about harms (3-item scale, alpha = 0.76) and benefits (3-item scale, alpha = 0.82) of using e-cigarettes. Participants who viewed negative headlines reported increased beliefs about harms (B = 0.164, p = 0.039) and lower beliefs about benefits of e-cigarette use (B = -0.216, p = 0.009), compared with those in the positive headlines condition. These differences were replicated in subgroup analyses among never e-cigarette users. In addition, never e-cigarette users who viewed conflicting headlines reported lower beliefs about benefits of e-cigarette use (B = -0.221, p = 0.030) than the positive headlines condition. Valence of news coverage about e-cigarettes (positive, negative, or conflicting) could influence people's beliefs about harms and benefits of e-cigarette use.