Evaluating industry codes governing malt liquor ads

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term goals of this research are to develop both methodological tools and empirical findings that will advance knowledge about the public health impact of malt liquor advertisements. The project is particularly concerned with methods to evaluate industry self-regulation codes that are used to guide the marketing and content of both TV and print advertisements for these products. During the formative stage of this project, and archive of TV and print ads will be compiled, focus groups will be conducted to develop operational measures of industry guidelines, and reliability of these measures will be evaluated in a test-retest study with 75 participants selected in the basis if age (18-24), gender, and ethnic diversity. Once the measures have been developed, they will be used in a laboratory-based study of representative TV and print ads with a sample of 480 participants recruited from both inner city neighborhoods and college campuses. The research is designed to answer the following questions: Are models portrayed in malt liquor ads perceived to be in conformance with industry guidelines pertaining to age, responsible drinking behavior, attractiveness and other recommended standards? Do the evaluations of models portrayed in TV commercials and print ads vary as a function of the viewer's structural (e.g., age, gender, ethnic group membership) and individual difference (e.g., drinking history, alcohol expectancies, personality traits, family history of alcoholism) vulnerability factors? Are TV commercials more of less in compliance with industry codes than print ads, and do viewer perceptions of TV print ads differ according to the putative structural and individual difference vulnerability factors? The significance of the research described in this application lies with its potential to advance the methodology necessary to evaluate the adherence of malt liquor ads to industry self-regulation guidelines, and to provide preliminary empirical data about both conformance and these guidelines and vulnerability factors that are associated with nonconforming perceptions by vulnerable viewers.