Portrayals of alcohol on prime-time television.

Television and Music Video Exposure and Risk of Adolescent Alcohol Use

“…For example, in one study of prime-time television programs, alcohol appeared in approximately two thirds of all programs, at an average rate of 8.1 drinking references per hour. 10 Similarly, alcohol use was portrayed in Ͼ20% of 518 music videos broadcast on four networks in 1994. 11 Alcohol also is commonly advertised on television.…”

“…9 Alcohol use is frequently portrayed in both entertainment programming and advertising, and alcohol is the most common beverage shown on television. Portrayals of alcohol use are particularly prevalent in prime-time programming, 10 music videos, 11 and during television coverage of college and professional sports events. 12 Content analyses indicate that alcohol use is portrayed more frequently by more attractive, successful, and influential people in a positive social context, often associated with sexually suggestive content, recreation, or motor vehicle use.…”

Messages in alcohol advertising targeted to youth

“…[4][5][6] Movies and TV entertainment programs commonly portray alcohol consumption as a 'normal' part of life, usually depicting alcohol as a mood-altering substance, as an aid to socialising and as a stress reducer. [7][8][9] Advertising tells us what products and brands are associated with what lifestyles, what socio-economic status, what attitudes to life, and therefore how we can adopt and maintain a particular self-image. 10 It is claimed that advertising has particular influence on the young, especially as to which brands or product categories are 'in' or 'cool'.…”

Sweet sixteen and never been drunk?

“…Most of the available studies into alcohol portrayal in the media focused only on the prevalence of alcohol consumption (Everett et al, 1998;Furnham et al, 1997;Gruber et al, 2005;Long et al, 2002;Mathios et al, 1998;Thompson & Yokota, 2001;Wallack et al, 1990) without systematically addressing the hedonic and social contexts in which it occurs. Like two earlier studies (Christenson, Henriksen, & Roberts, 2000;Hansen, 2003), we tried to extend the existing research by examining the specific contexts of alcohol use.…”

“…Research shows that alcohol advertisements may positively affect adolescents' drinking intentions and behaviours (Atkin, Hocking, & Block, 1984;Wyllie, Zhang, & Casswell, 1998b). Besides 'regular' alcohol advertisements, however, adolescents may also be exposed to more implicit alcohol-related cues, in music videos (Gruber, Thau, Hill, Fisher, & Grube, 2005), movies (Everett, Schnuth, & Tribble, 1998;Thompson & Yokota, 2001), and television programmes like soaps (Furnham, Ingle, Gunter, & McClelland, 1997;Long, O'Connor, Gerbner, & Concato, 2002;Mathios, Avery, Bisogni, & Shanahan, 1998;Wallack, Grube, Madden, & Breed, 1990). There is reason to assume that these indirect cues may have stronger effects on audience perceptions and behaviour than commercial messages, whose persuasive intentions can be more easily inferred and resisted (Signorielli, 1990).…”