title: Televised entertainment-education to prevent adolescent alcohol use: perceived realism, enjoyment, and impact.
abstract: Alcohol use among adolescents is a concern in the Netherlands because of its high prevalence and risks. To discourage adolescents from drinking alcohol, a televised entertainment-education (E-E) intervention was developed. This study investigated responses of adolescents on perceived realism and enjoyment of the E-E intervention, as well as its impact on alcohol drinking behavior. Viewers perceived the E-E narratives to be credible and enjoyable but did not relate to the characters in the narratives. However, exposure to the E-E intervention predicted desired changes in alcohol drinking behavior, intentions to decrease alcohol use, and perceived normative pressure, especially in less educated viewers. These findings demonstrate that E-E is a promising strategy to target adolescent alcohol use. Future research will focus on the individual processes and story elements that account for the positive results.
authors: Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands. lonneke.vanleeuwen@wur.nl
authors: Lonneke
authors: L
authors: van Leeuwen
authors: Reint Jan
authors: RJ
authors: Renes
authors: Cees
authors: C
authors: Leeuwis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010565:Persuasive Communication; D013690:Television