Alcohol consumption in television programming in three English-speaking cultures.

Previous research relating television advertising and alcohol consumption indicates no meaningful relationships. This study focused on observed drinking behaviour in comedy, soap opera, drama, and police/detective programmes produced for British, American and Canadian television. Results indicated British television fiction had three times the amount of alcohol consumption seen in either American or Canadian programming. In spite of this more frequent portrayal of alcohol consumption, examination of World Drinking Trends and other alcohol-related statistics (i.e. cirrhosis and alcohol-related auto accidents) indicated no greater level of alcohol misuse in the U.K. than in Canada or the United States. In fact, available statistics indicate significantly lower rates of liver cirrhosis in Britain as opposed to Canada and the United States. Hypotheses regarding the absence of relation between fictional and actual alcohol consumption were discussed.     

A content analysis of alcohol portrayal and drinking in British television soap operas

This study examined the portrayal of alcohol consumption ina sample of six soap operas on British television. In all, 86%contained visual or verbal references to alcoholic beverageswith an average of one reference in every 3.5 min of programming.Over all of the 25 programmes monitored, more alcohol was consumedthan soft drinks, at a ratio of 2.1:1, and there were hardlyany references to the hazards of alcohol consumption. In contrastto previous similar studies, alcohol was found to be most prominentlyfeatured in Emmerdale Farm and hardly ever appeared in Homeand Away. Also, four of the major soaps regularly showed specificbrands of alcohol, in particular Eastenders. Finally, despitethe observations in previous studies by others that the presentationof alcohol on television is decreasing, in comparison to threestudies done in the last 10 years, alcohol portrayal appearedto be, if anything, on the increase, although problems associatedwith these comparisons render the results in need of replication.The quality of data yielded in many of these analyses, alongwith poor base-rate data, make it difficult to establish theevidence of reliable trends, though preliminary analyses weredone comparing two earlier studies with data obtained in thisone. However, recommendations for further studies have beenmade.     

Debate. Public discourse on alcohol

There are many and varied voices in the public discourse on alcohol: those of the public health interests; those of the vested interest groups; and those of the media themselves. The concerns of those in the field of public health are to prevent any increase and, where possible, reduce the harms which are experienced from alcohol use. Occupying a somewhat different position in the public discourse are the voices of the distributors and producers of alcohol. While there is some shared concern about the adverse consequences of alcohol use, the primary interest of these groups is to protect the return on the investment of their shareholders. Among those with a stake in alcohol industry profits, there is a reluctance to accept the use of public policies which have a direct impact on overall consumption and drinking behaviour. The preference of the vested interest groups is that the public discourse be aimed at informing and persuading the individual drinker (and future drinker) to behave in a certain way. These groups want the role of the public health interests to the use of educational programmes, while at the same time utilising the mass media to inform and persuade in the form of direct and indirect advertising campaigns which promote the use of alcohol. Other aspects of the public discourse on alcohol are disseminated in the entertainment, news and editorial pages of newspapers and content of television programmes. Here too there are conflicting messages about alcohol, with coverage of the public health issues being juxtaposed alongside the perspectives of the alcohol producers and distributors and other vested interest groups such as the advertising industry. The media are key players in the public discourse on alcohol. Alcohol policy issues have long been hotly contested and in the 1990s much of the debate is shaped by the portrayal of alcohol and alcohol policy in the mass media. There has always been a considerable imbalance between the resources available for the promotion of alcohol use and those to moderate it, and it is concluded that access to the mass media by public health voices is essential if public health goals are to be achieved.     

MEDICAL EDUCATION ABOUT ALCOHOL: REVIEW OF ITS ROLE AND EFFECTIVENESS

Many reports have described inadequate responses by doctorsto problems associated with alcohol misuse. Low levels of medicalknowledge and inappropriate attitudes continue to be documentedin the alcohol area. However, in recent years, greater emphasishas been placed on the need to improve doctors' skills in relationto alcohol problem detection and intervention. Experientialteaching approaches have been recommended and strategies whichincorporate feedback methods offer considerable promise. Inthe United Kingdom and Canada, there has been no centrally fundedapproach to improve alcohol medical education. In contrast,federally funded initiatives in the United States of Americaand Australia have been associated with impressive increasesin alcohol-related teaching hours and elective opportunities.Despite the substantial effort invested in achieving these curriculumgains, there is a dearth of research demonstrating impacts onmedical behaviours or evaluating the cost-effectiveness of differenteducational strategies. Evidence from trials in smoking cessationtraining indicate that well-designed programmes can alter doctorbehaviours in relation to substance abuse. If the alcohol medicaleducation field is to progress, there is an urgent need forthe development and evaluation of programmes which are betterdesigned and are more informed by theory.     

Trends in tobacco use on television.

A two-week composite sample of prime time television programming from fall 1984 was analyzed for portrayals of alcohol and tobacco. Earlier studies note that smoking acts have progressively declined, suggesting smoking is no longer as frequent on prime time television. The current study notes higher levels of smoking. This could be an indication that smoking is returning, and/or related to recent programming changes featuring more dramas on prime time television.     

‘I guess I do have to take back what I said before,about television’: pregnant women's understandings and use of televisual representations of childbearing

Research on television as a source of childbearing information is divided on its importance. Drawing from a sample of 64 pregnant women in the greater New York and Connecticut metropolitan area, we examine how women understand the influence of television on their expectations for pregnancy and birth. A sizable minority (44%) regularly watched reality television programmes on childbearing; all engaged in active viewing practices, such as recognising programme formula and evaluating plausibility of depictions. We find clear educational differences in how viewers believed television influenced their pregnancy knowledge: women with higher levels of education generally disavowed all television as an information source, but used reality programming to educate their children about pregnancy and for entertainment. Women who had lower educational attainment were more likely to include reality programmes as part of their comprehensive approach to information gathering. Only one woman asserted that fictional television was a good source of pregnancy information. Although many devalued television, women referenced television programmes and imagery as they described their expectations and concerns for pregnancy. A large proportion of respondents were unaware of the influence television exerted on them. Health scholars must better engage with the complexities of media use.     

The relationship between college students' schema regarding alcohol use,their television viewing patterns,and their previous experience with alcohol

Two hundred college students participated in an experiment investigating how individuals use television and real world experiences to construct alcohol use schema. Students were asked to write a story about a student who had a difficult day and, on arriving home, fixed himself a drink. In randomly assigned conditions, directions led the student to believe this was to be either a real world scenario or the setting for a television episode. Stories were coded for setting and social nature of use, quantity of use, consequences (both severity and valence), and overall tone. In general, stories characterized alcohol use as heavy, social, relaxing, and resulting in mostly minor consequences. Story characteristics did not differ based on direction type (real world vs. TV scenario). Students also completed a series of measures regarding television viewing habits, attitudes about alcohol use, and past experiences with use. Regarding television viewing patterns, those who watched more television overall created stories with more alcohol use. Viewing of dramas in particular was associated with less severe consequences as a result of use. In terms of personal experience with use, individuals who had driven under the influence of alcohol were more likely to construct a story with a positive tone and those who had passed out from drinking were less likely to conclude their stories with a moral tale discouraging drinking. The conclusion of this research is that both personal and observed experiences are important influencing factors in individuals' schema regarding alcohol use.     

Do parental co‐viewing and discussions mitigate TV‐induced fears in young children?

Background   While excessive television viewing has been associated with negative outcomes in children's welfare, parental co-viewing has been suggested as an effective way to prevent these negative effects. The objective of the present study is to specify some social contexts of co-viewing and to assess whether co-viewing modifies the effects of media on children's TV-related fears.
Methods   The study is based on a representative random sample of 331 children aged 5–6 years. It is based on parental reports of children's TV-related fears and family television viewing practices.
Results   Parental co-viewing and discussion of television programmes with the child were found to be associated with higher rates of children's TV-related fears, high television exposure in general and watching adults' television programmes. The association between TV-related fears and co-viewing remained significant even after controlling for gender, maternal education, family income and the quantity and quality of television viewing. Co-viewing and TV-related discussions increased the risk for TV-related fears nearly fourfold (adjusted odds ratio 3.92, 95% confidence interval 1.37–11.17 and adjusted odds ratio 3.31, 95% confidence interval 1.33–8.20, respectively).
Conclusions   The findings suggest that co-viewing and discussing television programmes are more common in families where television exposure is high. Because both co-viewing and discussing television programmes were associated with higher fear scores regardless of the quantity and quality of television exposure, the research shows that in everyday life co-viewing may not be done in such a way that it leads to a reduction of children's fears. More studies are needed to explore the co-viewing practices of families in more detail.     

Equality and difference: persisting historical themes in health and alcohol policies affecting Indigenous Australians

Disseminating national health and alcohol policies to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia has been a challenging task for governments and public servants. This has been for a number of reasons, including the enduring (negative) legacy of past "Aboriginal affairs" policies, the fact that Indigenous health programmes and alcohol programmes have been treated separately since the 1970s, and a more recent context in which the recognition of cultural difference was privileged. Confronted with the politics of difference, health departments were slow to examine avenues through which best practice advice emanating from WHO, and alcohol policies such as harm minimisation and early identification and treatment in primary health care, could be communicated in culturally recognisable ways to independent Indigenous services. In addition, there was hostility towards harm minimisation policies from Indigenous service providers, and Indigenous treatment programmes remained largely committed to abstinence-oriented modalities and the disease model of alcoholism, despite moves away from these approaches in the mainstream. However, genuinely innovative acute interventions and environmental controls over alcohol have been developed by Indigenous community-based organisations, approaches that are reinforced by international policy research evidence.     

Smoking in contemporary German television programming

Summary Objective: To study the prevalence of smoking in German television in 2005. Methods: Content analysis of all programmes of the four main national channels Das Erste, ZDF, RTL and Pro7 over one week between 3 pm and 12 pm. A total of 395 programmes were analysed (252 h of programming). Each programme was coded regarding whether there was one or more smoking occurrence, defined as active smoking or handling with tobacco products by a character. Results: Smoking was portrayed in 176 (45 %) of the programmes. Smoking occurrences were frequent in movies (77 %), and in TV magazines (69 %). Movies, films, and serials produced in Germany showed more often smoking (65 %) compared with productions from abroad (48 %; p = 0.051). Conclusions: Smoking is frequently portrayed in German TV. Submitted: 29 January 2007, Revised: 16 May 2007, Accepted: 22 May 2007     

The case of the missing girls: distribution of gender roles in Indian children’s television programming

Children’s programming is booming in India with children having increased access to television. Given that television is a powerful socializing agent, this study seeks to identify how gender is being represented in it using content analysis. The gender and role of 826 major characters across 89 programmes, which were telecast on 11 channels during the evenings, was analysed. The results show that 91.01% of all the programmes were animated. There was a gender bias in the programme titles, as the majority contained only male or gender-neutral names. Males (74.94%) outnumber females (25.06%) across all channels, irrespective of their target audience. More males than females were cast in all the character roles except in the role of the protagonist’s family member, where both genders were cast equally. The underrepresentation of females in some character roles also veered towards 100% on certain channels. Overall, most programmes seem oriented towards boys than girls.     

Primetime television impacts on adolescents' impressions of bodyweight, sex appeal, and food and beverage consumption

Television viewing is ubiquitous in adolescent culture, but the influence of television characters on adolescent behaviours and social norms is not well understood. We conducted a content analysis of 10 television programmes frequently watched by 12‐ to 17‐year‐olds in the US media market. From these data, a survey was developed to determine how adolescents interact with, and are influenced by, television programmes, especially in relation to bodyweight, sex appeal, and food and beverage consumption. The survey was posted online, and students (12–19 years) from across the state of Arizona, USA, completed it electronically (n = 524). Data were assessed by tabulation, principal axis factor analysis and linear regression analysis. The results showed 12% of sample members had a body mass index (BMI)‐for‐age over the 95th percentile, 50% reported watching >2 h of television each day, and 59% reported accruing < 60 min of exercise and physical activity each day. Over 35% of respondents indicated eating pizza and pasta frequently. Beer and wine were seen as the most frequently consumed beverages on television, while 63.9% of sample members reported soda as their personal beverage of choice. Factor extraction from the survey indicated a three‐factor solution (‘sex appeal’, ‘TV viewers and perceivers’, ‘TV viewers and doers’) provided the best conceptual explanation of the data, accounting for 34.7% of the total variance. Significant predictors (r² = 0.448) of BMI‐for‐age included urbanicity (β = 5.6), gender (β = ?14.5) and survey questions related to bodyweight perceptions. Our data showed that television's focus on sex appeal, thinness and alcohol may have a powerful impact on adolescents’ self‐esteem, body satisfaction and health behaviours. Innovative approaches related to decreased television viewing, household eating environment and media literacy warrant further exploration.     

Television food advertising in Singapore: the nature and extent of children's exposure

Television advertising is an effective medium for reaching young children and influencing their food choice. Studies have shown that messages conveyed by food advertisements are rarely consistent with healthy eating messages. With the increasing purchasing power of children, food companies are focusing on children as lucrative target audiences. Extensive marketing of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods to children potentially contributes to the 'obesogenic' environment. This study aims to determine the degree and nature of food advertisements that Singaporean children are exposed to on television. Ninety-eight hours of children's television programmes broadcast by free-to-air stations were recorded and analysed. Advertisements with the intent of selling and sponsorships for programmes were included. Foods advertised were considered healthy if they met the criteria of the Healthier Choice Symbol in Singapore. Of the 1344 advertisements and sponsorships identified, 33% were for food. Of the food advertisements, 38% were considered healthy, while 57% were not. Candy, confectionery and fast food advertisements accounted for 46% of total food advertisements. Significantly more unhealthy food advertisements were screened on weekends compared with weekdays (p < 0.001). This is the first content analysis of television advertisements in Singapore and the results of this study provide background data on the extent of food advertising that children in Singapore are exposed to. Consistent with other countries, unhealthy food advertisements continue to dominate children's television programmes. This study suggests that Singaporean children are exposed to high levels of advertising for unhealthy foods. The study provides a baseline against which measures aimed at reducing children's exposure to television food advertising can be evaluated.     

Communication experts' opinion on alcohol advertising through the electronic media in New Zealand

The debate over the influence of alcohol advertising on people'sdrinking behaviour and attitudes is one which many countrieshave experienced as they decide how and to what degree alcoholadvertising should be regulated Recently in New Zealand, policymakers examined the issue of whether alcohol advertising shouldbe allowed on the electronic media. In an effort to contributeto the debate, a qualitative study of communications' expertsopinions on alcohol advertising on television and radio wasconducted in 1991. This paper presents the results from thatstudy and compares the responses from the two main groupingsof informants. It also discusses the outcome of the policy debateand examines the limited influence the study had on the policymaking process. The respondents expressed concern about the macho imagery inalcohol advertising and its appeal to the young. The study alsosuggested that the strong association in alcohol advertisingbetween alcohol and sport was a concern of most informants andthat there was majority support for the argument that the messagesof alcohol companies needed to be balanced by health education.The absence of content relevant to public health concerns inalcohol advertising was acknowledged by informants to make theeducative task more difficult.     

Portrayal of health-related behaviours in popular UK television soap operas

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that health-related story lines in popular television programmes may lead to increased viewer knowledge or behaviour change. However, little is currently known about the portrayal of common health-related behaviours on UK television soap operas. METHODS: The portrayal of 11 key health-related behaviours on the 4 most popular soap operas set and broadcast in the UK over 4 weeks in spring 2005 was assessed. RESULTS: Seven of the 11 behaviours of interest were recorded a total of 959 times during 32 h of programming (or 30 behaviours per programming hour). The behaviour most frequently recorded was alcohol-related behaviours, recorded 619 times (19.3 per programming hour). No instances of four behaviours of interest were observed: driving soon after drinking, drinking during pregnancy, smoking during pregnancy or smoking around children. CONCLUSIONS: Popular television serials offer the chance to portray "healthy" behaviours as normal, and so help change attitudes and shape behavioural norms among the viewing public. Engaging the makers of these programmes in a health promotion agenda may be a fruitful method of promoting healthy behaviours.     

Television health promotion in four countries

OBJECTIVE: The research plan was to conduct a comparative, longitudinal field experiment in Russia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland to evaluate the effect of a nutritional and general health promotion television series. The series addressed four health topics: a healthy diet, avoidance of tobacco use and alcohol abuse, and enhanced physical activity. METHODS: Because of different infrastructure and contingency conditions in the four countries, data collection ranged from group-administered surveys at a central location to individual personal interviews using a quasi-experiment comparing viewers and non-viewers 18 y and older. It occurred between 1996 and 1998. RESULTS: Overall, the television programs were found to provide new, useful, and practical information to viewers. Most (53.4% to 64.0%) learned useful information. Nearly 33% or more (29.5% to 37.9%) intended to change their lifestyle, with about 25% or more (24.0% to 60.2%) of this group indicating that they would eat more fruits and vegetables. Subsequently, 16.7% to 45.0% reported actual dietary changes consistent with health promotion. CONCLUSIONS: The study addressed diet and nutritional patterns in this region and the underlying social and behavioral factors, topics on which there is very limited information. Methodologic equivalence was sought through consistent measures despite the differential research infrastructure in the four countries. Results indicated that viewers rated the nutritional and general health promotion television programs favorably and that media messages can be used to motivate and educate viewers. More sustained television programs focused on health promotion will benefit audiences in Central and Eastern Europe.     

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

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.     

Is aggression in children with behavioural and emotional difficulties associated with television viewing and video game playing? A systematic review

Background Possible associations between television viewing and video game playing and children's aggression have become public health concerns. We did a systematic review of studies that examined such associations, focussing on children and young people with behavioural and emotional difficulties, who are thought to be more susceptible. Methods We did computer‐assisted searches of health and social science databases, gateways, publications from relevant organizations and for grey literature; scanned bibliographies; hand‐searched key journals; and corresponded with authors. We critically appraised all studies. Results A total of 12 studies: three experiments with children with behavioural and emotional difficulties found increased aggression after watching aggressive as opposed to low‐aggressive content television programmes, one found the opposite and two no clear effect, one found such children no more likely than controls to imitate aggressive television characters. One case–control study and one survey found that children and young people with behavioural and emotional difficulties watched more television than controls; another did not. Two studies found that children and young people with behavioural and emotional difficulties viewed more hours of aggressive television programmes than controls. One study on video game use found that young people with behavioural and emotional difficulties viewed more minutes of violence and played longer than controls. In a qualitative study children with behavioural and emotional difficulties, but not their parents, did not associate watching television with aggression. All studies had significant methodological flaws. None was based on power calculations. Conclusion This systematic review found insufficient, contradictory and methodologically flawed evidence on the association between television viewing and video game playing and aggression in children and young people with behavioural and emotional difficulties. If public health advice is to be evidence‐based, good quality research is needed.     

Television and music video exposure and adolescent 'alcopop' use

Alcohol abuse among adolescents is a cause for concern. Around 1995 alcopops (sweetened alcoholic drinks) entered the scene and caused even more concern. Many fear that the sweet taste makes is easier to start drinking for those not yet used to drinking alcohol and the marketing appears aimed at adolescents. Because alcohol use has been linked to television viewing in general and music video viewing in particular this article examined whether a relationship existed between television and music video exposure and the consumption of alcopops. Data were collected with a questionnaire focused on television exposure and alcohol behavior. Respondents were a random sample of 2,546 first- and fourth year schoolchildren of Flanders, the Dutch speaking region of Belgium (60% of the Belgian population). Self reported general TV viewing, music video exposure and drinking of alcopops at home and/or while going out were measured. 68.4% of the respondents watched music videos at least several times a week. The odds of being an alcopop drinker at home increased by 196% for those, who watched music videos at least several times a week (OR = 1.961). For each additional hour of TV viewed per day, the respondents were 17% more likely to be drinkers of altopops at home (OR = 1.169). The odds of being an alcopop drinker, when going out increased by 239% for those who watched music videos at least several times a week (OR = 2.394). For each additional hour of TV viewed per day, the respondents were 19% more likely to be drinkers of alcopops when going out (OR = 1.186). These findings suggest that there is an association between music video exposure and use of alcopops not explained by overall exposure to television. This relationship merits further attention as it is a better predictor of alcopop use, than the control variables and overall TV viewing.     

Alcohol imagery on New Zealand television

Background  

To examine the extent and nature of alcohol imagery on New Zealand (NZ) television, a content analysis of 98 hours of prime-time television programs and advertising was carried out over 7 consecutive days' viewing in June/July 2004. The main outcome measures were number of scenes in programs, trailers and advertisements depicting alcohol imagery; the extent of critical versus neutral and promotional imagery; and the mean number of scenes with alcohol per hour, and characteristics of scenes in which alcohol featured.