The Paradox of Realism and “Authenticity” in Entertainment-Education: A Study of Adolescents' Views About Anti-Drug Abuse Dramas

Abstract

The successful use of drama as a vehicle to influence health-related attitudes and behaviors is credited to its ability to elicit an emotional experience and identification among audience members. This study investigated the views of adolescents regarding an entertainment-education (EE) component of their school's anti-drug program—a live performance of a professionally produced anti-drug abuse drama. The analysis draws mainly on data collected from 64 focus groups, conducted in 24 schools across Israel, and open-ended responses to questionnaires administered to more than 1,700 adolescents. The adolescents were generally entertained by the anti-drug abuse drama and moved by its “authenticity,” which emerged as a central construct in this study. Yet only a fraction identified with the characters and many remained unwilling to “tell” on a friend who uses drugs. Drawing on these findings, implications to EE theory and practice are discussed, particularly as they relate to the drama's perceived realism or “authenticity,” and its unintended effects.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was funded by a research grant by the Israel Anti-Drug Authority and was initiated by Dr. Rachel Bar-Hamburger, its chief scientist, who also guided us throughout its various phases. We would also like to acknowledge the contributions of the entire research team, in particular Michal Carmi, and the comments and suggestions of the Health Communication reviewers.

Notes

¹The study utilized a concurrent mixed-method design that generated separate quantitative and qualitative data, and the integration of the analyses was done in the interpretation phase (Creswell et al., 2003).

²The utilization of the quantitative data is a variation of the approach described by Moran-Ellis et al., (2006) as “following the thread”, in which a theme is chosen in one data set and followed across the others. It is a grounded inductive approach, which is developed through what they describe as a focused interpretive process. In this study, the data focus was on a particular construct that emerged in the qualitative analysis and consequently particular quantitative data were used to increase the validity of the interpretation through a process characterized as triangulation.

³In some schools both focus groups and questionnaires were administered, in some only questionnaires and in some only focus groups. These are specified in Table 2 in the appendix.

⁴The implementation of the study presented many logistical challenges. First, in order to choose the samples of plays and of schools, it was necessary to rely on the theaters for information on which dramas were scheduled to be performed during the upcoming school year and when. This was fraught with difficulties because many schools scheduled plays throughout the year or changed their plans. The allocation of schools to the sample was often dependent on an emergent situation and the cooperation of the schools entailed various issues including sending letters of consent to parents (none objected), entering the classrooms to administer questionnaires, and providing space to conduct focus groups. The study was thus heavily dependent on the cooperation of the schools that chose to view one of the dramas in the sample and were also in an appropriate geographical location. In addition, dates of the performances of the dramas sometimes changed. Despite the substantial limitations imposed by the nature of the study, the findings from the final mapping of the dramas at the end of the school year indicated that those in the sample fit the criteria of frequency, and the sample of schools was geographically and socially diverse.

⁵Questionnaires distributed in the Arab schools were translated into Arabic and the focus groups in these schools were conducted in Arabic by trained research assistants.

⁶These interviews were conducted as part of the larger study and the findings are reported in Guttman, Israelashvili, and Gesser-Edelsberg, 2004. For the purpose of this study the findings on their influence approach are noted.

⁷Out of the “before” questionnaire items, four sub-scales were computed: (1) Knowledge about drugs (α = .71) (2) Readiness to use drugs (α = .76) (3) Attitude towards people who use drugs occasionally (α = .70) and (4) Opinion on the utility of anti-drugs prevention programs (α = .90). Pearson correlations between these scales range between .17 to .46 (all correlations were significant).

⁸Guttman, Israelashvili, and Gesser-Edelsberg, 2004.

⁹These were also found in “interactive” plays constructed as short skit-like scenes in which members of the audience were invited to participate. The one that was somewhat different was the true story of a daughter, told by her in a dramatized way.

¹⁰Some statistical differences were found in exposure to drugs and reported drug use between schools and according to age group and country of origin, but none were found regarding the topics discussed in this paper, other than those noted.

¹¹Some exceptions were found in comments to the questionnaire. Some commented that viewing the play was “a waste of time.” In some instances participants in the focus groups said that they did not like the play or the acting. In one focus group there were strong negative attitudes of participants that may have been a result of the group dynamics.

¹²Statistical differences were found according to gender in two of the plays. One of the plays was enjoyed more by boys, and the play in which the protagonist was a girl, was enjoyed more by girls.

¹³A One way-ANOVA was used to compare responses of adolescents who were exposed to each one of the five dramas compared in the current study. Findings indicate that the highest scores were found in responses to the drama based on the life of the actor (mean 3.54, sd = .82) and the monodrama based on the life of the friend of the actor (mean 3.69, sd = .86), in comparison to the other three dramas (means range between 3.79 – 3.84, sd = .86 – .87) (F(4, 981) = 6.72, p < .001).

¹⁴Across all dramas in a series of items regarding the characteristics of the drama, the item “shows the truth,” was rated the highest with most means over 4; but drama based on the actor's own story had a significantly higher mean of 4.20 (SD = .93; p < .000).

¹⁵As many as 45% reported that drugs were readily available in their social milieu; 42% reported they knew someone who uses drugs; 25% said they encountered drugs at parties; and 10% expressed curiosity about drugs. A citation for the full report will be added.

¹⁶This was found in the statistical analysis, which is elaborated in Guttman et al., 2004. Using MANOVA for repeated mesurements (Group × Time), adolescents' responses to each of the items that explore their opinion about prople who use drugs, in the questionnaires adminstered before and after seeing the drama were compared. This MANOVA yielded significant Group main effect, meaning that adolescents who were exposed to anti-drugs drama expressed more moderate attitude towards people who use drugs, in comparison to adolescents who were not exposed to such a drama (Wilks' lambda = .242, F = 113.98, p < .oo, η² = .51).

¹⁷One of the challenges that mergers from this analysis is to develop dramas that are based on a narrative that is less “extreme” but nonetheless can emotionally involve youth audiences and present dilemmas that are relevant to their own contact with drugs.

¹⁸Developing a conceptual approach on perceived realism in EE can also contribute to the literature on public service announcements that often use a testimonial strategy.

¹⁹The example mentioned was a film in which two plots are shown, each depending on the choices made by the protagonist.