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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Alcohol Brand References in U.S. Popular Music, 2009–2011

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Pages 1475-1484 | Published online: 23 Aug 2013
 

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the prevalence and context of alcohol brand references in popular music. Billboard Magazine year-end charts from 2009 to 2011 were used to identify the most popular songs in four genres: Urban, Pop, Country, and Rock. Of the 720 songs, 23% included an alcohol mention, and 6.4% included an alcohol brand mention. Songs classified as Urban had the highest percentage of alcohol mentions and alcohol brand mentions. The context associated with alcohol brand mentions was almost uniformly positive or neutral. Public health efforts may be necessary to reduce youth exposure to these positive messages about alcohol use.

RÉSUMÉ

Les références des marques d'alcool dans la musique populaire des Etats-Unis entre les années 2009 et 2011

Cette étude a eu l'intention d’évaluer la prévalence et le contexte des références des marques d'alcool dans la musique populaire. Les tops de fin d'année du Billboard Magainze ont été utilisés pour identifier les chansons les plus populaires de quatre genres : Urban, Pop, Country, et Rock. De 720 chansons, 23% faisaient référence à l'alcool et 6,4% faisaient référence à une marque spécifique d'alcool. Les chansons classifiées comme Urban ont eu le pourcentage le plus haut des références à l'alcool et aux marques d'alcool. Le contexte associé avec les marques d'alcool a été presque uniformément positif ou neutre. Des efforts de la santé publique pourraient être nécessaire pour réduire l'exposition des jeunes aux messages à connotation positive de la consommation d'alcool.

RESUMEN

Preferencias a marcas de alcohol en la música papular –U.S., 2009–2011

Este estudio fue hecho con el propósito de evaluar la prevalencia y contexto de referencias a las marcas de alcohol en música popular. Las listas de fin de año de Billboard Magazine de 2009–2011 fueron usadas para identificar las canciones más populares de cuatro géneros diferentes: Urbano, Pop, Country y Rock. De las 720 canciones, 23% incluyeron alguna referencia al alcohol, y 6.4% incluyeron alguna referencia a una marca de alcohol. Canciones clasificadas como Urbanas tuvieron el porcentaje más alto de referencias alcohólicas y referencias a marcas de alcohol. El contexto asociado con referencias a marcas de alcohol fue casi uniformemente positivo o neutral. Puede que esfuerzos de salud pública sean necesarios para prevenir que jóvenes sean expuestos a estos mensajes positivos sobre el consumo de alcohol.

THE AUTHORS

Michael Siegel, MD, MPH, is a Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health. He has conducted extensive research on the effects of cigarette advertising on youth smoking behavior. Currently, he is using the methods he helped develop in the cigarette advertising field to study the effects of alcohol advertising on youth drinking behavior.

Renee M. Johnson, PhD, completed her doctoral studies at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health in 2004 (Chapel Hill, NC). She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health (Boston, MA). In addition, she is a core faculty member with the Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center, the Boston Medical Center Injury Prevention Center, and the Social Adjustment and Bullying Prevention Laboratory at BU School of Education. Prior to joining the Boston University faculty in 2009, she was with the Alonzo Smythe Yerby Postdoctoral Fellowship program at Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Johnson studies the prevention and epidemiology of suicide, firearm injury, violence, and substance use, among adolescents and emerging adults. Her current research examines how neighborhood context impacts initiation of substance use, with a particular emphasis on marijuana use among low-income, urban youth. She is a member of the American Public Health Association and the Society for Prevention Research.

Keshav Tyagi is currently pursuing a BS in health promotion and disease prevention, a BA in biological sciences, and an MPH from the University of Southern California. He currently works in the USC Office of Health Communication as a research associate alongside Dr. Paul Robert Appleby. His future research interests lie in examining the benefit of eHealth on health education, public health campaigns, and interventions.

Kathryn Power is an alumna of the Boston University School of Public Health, where she earned her degree in Behavioral Health Sciences. As a Research Assistant for Dr. Renee Johnson, she has analyzed alcohol and marijuana references in popular music and their potential impact on adolescent risk-taking behaviors. Her other research interests include adolescent sexual health and school health, as examined from social justice and policy perspectives.

Mark C. Lohsen is a PhD student in the Graduate Program in Molecular Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. He currently studies associations between substance dependence and genetic variants.

Amanda J. Ayers is an MPH candidate at Boston University's School of Public Health. She has always had a passion for lowering the risk of alcohol and drug addiction among adolescents. Amanda hopes to continue this work after graduation by working with local universities to change the way stress, addiction, and mental health are looked at on college campuses.

David H. Jernigan, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society and the Director of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where he teaches courses on social and behavioral aspects of health, media advocacy, and alcohol policy.

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