Alcohol Use in Films and Adolescent Alcohol Use

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether exposure to alcohol use in films (AUFs) is associated with early alcohol use, binge drinking, and alcohol-related problems in British adolescents.METHODS: Cross-sectional study with 5163 15-year-olds from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in the United Kingdom. We measured adolescent exposure to AUFs, age at onset of alcohol use, and binge-drinking behavior. We adjusted for early childhood social, family and behavioral factors, adolescent tobacco use, and peer drinking. RESULTS:After adjustment, adolescents with the highest exposure to AUFs were 1.2 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-1.3) times more likely to have tried alcohol compared with those least exposed and 1.7 (95% CI: 1.5-2.0) times more likely to binge drink. They were 2.4 (95% CI: 1.9-3.1) times more likely to drink weekly and 2.0 (95% CI: 1.7-2.4) times more likely to have alcohol-related problems than those least exposed.CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to AUFs is associated with higher risk of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems in UK adolescents. Our findings provide evidence to support the argument that a review of film-rating categories and alcohol ratings for all films may help reduce problemrelated alcohol consumption in young people. WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT:Exposure to risky behavior in the media is associated with increased risky behavior during adolescence. To date, published studies have not adjusted results for early childhood confounders in this literature. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:Our findings confirm associations between adolescent alcohol use in the United Kingdom and exposure to alcohol use in films consistent with other global studies, even after controlling for early childhood confounding influences. Dr Waylen designed the study and drafted the initial manuscript; Dr Leary carried out the analyses and reviewed and revised the manuscript; Dr Ness conceptualized the study within this UK cohort and reviewed and revised the manuscript; Dr Sargent conceptualized the study and critically reviewed the manuscript; and all authors approved the final manuscript as submitted.This publication is the work of the authors, and Dr Waylen will serve as guarantor for the contents of this article. Scotland) and concluded that, even after adjustment for a range of contemporaneous confounders, exposure to AUF was associated with an increased risk of trying alcohol and binge drinking. 15 Neither these nor any of the other previously published studies has adjusted for the many early childhood exposures and characteristics that might affect life course trajectories and confound the movie alcohol exposure-youth alcohol consumption association. We used data collected prospectively during pre-and postnatal and early childhood assessments from a large UK cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to examine associations between exposure to AUF and adolescent alcohol use at 15 years after adjusting for early childhood confounding influences. METHODSALSPAC is a prospective st...

Exposure to Alcohol Use in Motion Pictures and Teen Drinking in Latin America

“…Our study is the first to confirm the association between AUF and drinking behavior in adolescents from Latin America. Our results are consistent with studies conducted in other countries (Hanewinkel and Sargent, ; Hanewinkel et al., , ; Sargent et al., ; Waylen et al., ; Wills et al., ). Although our study suggested different mean levels of exposure to AUF in Argentina and Mexico than for adolescents from the United States (median 8.6 hours) (Sargent et al., ), or Germany (median 3.4 hours) (Hanewinkel et al., ), we found a similar dose–response association between exposure to AUF and alcohol use, engagement in binge drinking, and alcohol susceptibility.…”

“…Experimental studies have shown that alcohol portrayals in films directly influence actual alcohol intake, presumably by imitation and cue‐reactivity processes (Engels et al., ; Koordeman et al., ). Finally, cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations have been reported for the relationship between exposure to alcohol use in films (AUF) and alcohol use and binge drinking among adolescents in the United States, England, and Germany (Dal Cin et al., ; Hanewinkel and Sargent, ; Hanewinkel et al., , , ; Morgenstern et al., ,b, ; Nunez‐Smith et al., ; Sargent et al., ; Waylen et al., ). That alcohol companies pay for alcohol brand placement in films is important, because it means that film alcohol depictions could be reduced if payments were restricted, as was the case with smoking in films (Bergamini et al., ).…”

“It Takes Longer, but When It Hits You It Hits You!”: Videos About Marijuana Edibles on YouTube

“…Prior research has shown that both media and peers are strong influences on youth substance use behaviors and attitudes, and YouTube is known to be a popular social media site among teens (Allen et al, 2012; Mander, 2015; Salimian et al, 2014; Wasserman, 2013; Waylen et al, 2015), therefore the accessibility of edibles-related videos to underage youth is of concern. Specifically, we found that, similar to other studies about substance use on YouTube (Barry et al, 2015; Huang, Kornfield, & Emery, 2016; Seidenberg, Rodgers, Rees, & Connolly, 2012; Winpenny, Marteau, & Nolte, 2014), the majority of videos about edibles was accessible to underage viewers.…”

“…Media and peer influences are some of the most important factors affecting substance use among young people (Allen, Chango, Szwedo, Schad, & Marston, 2012; Salimian, Chunara, & Weitzman, 2014; Waylen, Leary, Ness, & Sargent, 2015). YouTube is the most popular video-sharing website, and includes both originally created videos and shows/video clips from television.…”

Influence of product placement in children's movies on children's snack choices

“…Children’s health beliefs and behaviors are associated with their media exposure, and this has been empirically demonstrated for alcohol use, 1–4 smoking, 5,6 and violence. 7,8 Although the sedentary nature of media consumption is likely one reason for the relationship between media and obesity, another possible mechanism is media-based exposure to food and beverage content that promotes high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and beverages.…”