Effective message design targeting college students for the prevention of binge-drinking: basing design on rebellious risk-taking tendency.
This study examined the responses of college students who were exposed to different types of episodic stories related to drinking (gender-consistent vs. gender-inconsistent condition) and their intention to modify risky behavior (binge drinking) based on their rebellious risk-taking tendency. Self-report measures such as intention to modify drinking behavior and reaction to the message were measured. Eighty-two college students between the ages of 19 and 23 years participated in a posttest-only group design experiment. Results suggested that rebellious participants were less afraid of the dangers of binge drinking than those who were low in rebelliousness for the gender-consistent condition. Regardless of the level of rebelliousness, the participants who were in the gender-consistent (increased relevance) condition produced higher recognition scores than those who were in the gender-inconsistent condition. However, the rebellious participants who were in the gender-inconsistent condition exhibited a higher level of intention to change their drinking behavior than did those in the gender-consistent condition.
Lee
Moon J
MJ
Edward R. Murrow School of Communication, Washington State University, Pullman 99164, USA. moonlee@wsu.edu
Bichard
Shannon L
SL
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities