Alcohol Storylines in Television Episodes: The Preventive Effect of Countering Epilogues

Abstract

This experimental study assessed whether alcohol television storylines impact youth drinking attitudes and intentions and whether corrective epilogues can potentially moderate this impact. Television episodes were professionally produced to depict heavy drinking leading to either positive or negative consequences. The pro- and anti-alcohol episodes were shown alone or with an epilogue where a main character discussed the deleterious effects of excessive drinking. Attitudes toward drinkers and drinking intentions were measured subsequently, along with reactions to the episode and demographic data, among participants aged 14–17 using an online study. Exposure to the pro-alcohol episode was related to more positive attitudes toward drinkers. Including an epilogue after a pro- alcohol episode was related to more negative viewers’ attitudes toward drinkers and lower drinking intentions compared to a pro- alcohol episode with no epilogue. By contrast, including an epilogue after an anti-alcohol episode was unrelated to attitudes toward drinkers or drinking intentions. Viewing a single television episode with a pro-alcohol message may lead to more positive attitudes toward drinkers. The finding that a brief epilogue may reduce the impact of the pro-alcohol storyline suggests easily implemented preventive strategies to counter the adverse impact of substance use portrayals in entertainment programming.

When Do Public Health Epilogues Correct the Influence of Alcohol Story Lines on Youth? The Interplay of Narrative Transportation and Persuasion Knowledge

“…Measures of attitudes toward drinkers and drinking intentions were adapted from previous research. Participants were asked “What do you think about people who drink alcohol?” Responses were coded on a five-point semantic differential scale: Good–Bad (reverse coded), Unappealing–Appealing, Uncool–Cool, Unattractive–Attractive, Boring–Fun, Dumb–Smart (α = .94; Russell et al 2017). Drinking intentions were measured by questions asking respondents how likely they were, in the next year, to (1) drink alcohol, (2) drink several alcoholic drinks in a row, and (3) drink enough to feel drunk (1 = “very unlikely,” and 5 = “very likely”).…”

“…One approach to mitigate the potentially negative influence of alcohol portrayals in entertainment content is to use epilogues or explicit appeals that address the messages implied in story lines. Although direct appeals such as public service announcements (PSAs) can elicit reactance and counterarguing, research suggests that consumers are receptive to epilogue messages following a story (Moyer-Gusé, Jain, and Chung 2012; Russell et al 2017). However, this research has primarily examined the influence of epilogues that reinforce beliefs implied by the story line.…”

Adolescents’ Perceived Drinking Norms Toward Alcohol Misuse: An Integrative Review

“…Adolescents’ intention to drink was largely correlated with their perceived drinking norms, stemming from parents, peers, and pro-drinking media exposure. Among the 13 studies that used drinking intention as an outcome, 12 found significant associations between adolescents’ perceived drinking norms and drinking intention with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.23 ( p < 0.05, N = 68; Aiken et al, 2018) to 0.55 ( p < 0.01, N = 400; Schwinn & Schinke, 2012), while one study did not ( p = 0.72, N = 762; Russell et al, 2017).…”

To brand or not to brand a product placement? Evidence from a field study of two influence mechanisms of positive portrayals of alcohol in film

“…associating alcohol use with repulsive characters or negative consequences) to have positive impact on audiences’ beliefs and behaviours. This type of alcohol portrayal is much less frequent in film and few studies have studied it so far . Given that some movies and TV shows have effectively promoted various healthy behaviours and lifestyles under the umbrella of ‘entertainment education’ , the potential for societally beneficial mechanisms of influence from negative alcohol portrayals deserves attention.…”