356
Views
30
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

The Relationship of Parental Reinforcement of Media Messages to College Students' Alcohol-Related Behaviors

&
Pages 157-169 | Published online: 10 Nov 2010
 

Abstract

Although alcohol consumption is a problem on the college campus, beliefs and behaviors predictive of alcohol use are in development in children as young as third grade. Because they develop partially in response to interpretations of media messages, for which parents can have an influence, this study examined how college students' ( N =300) recollections of parental reinforcement of media messages associated with alcohol-related beliefs and behaviors. Structural equation modeling showed that recalled positive mediation negatively predicted skepticism, and positively predicted desirability and expectancies. Desirability of media messages predicted more positive norms perceptions, and a lack of skepticism predicted more positive expectancies. With age of first experimentation controlled, expectancies predicted heavier current drinking behavior. Norms did not predict behavior, and positive mediation did not predict norms. The study concludes that to the extent parental communication leads adolescents to interpret media messages less skeptically, they encourage adolescents to find alcohol portrayals appealing. This in turn appears to lead toward more risky behaviors. The results suggest that college-based anti-alcohol campaigns can benefit by acknowledging the appeal of competing messages and by including parents as a campaign target.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.