What makes a message real? The effects of perceived realism of alcohol- and drug-related messages on personal probability estimation.

Perceived lack of realism in alcohol advertising messages promising positive outcomes and antialcohol and antidrug messages portraying negative outcomes of alcohol consumption has been a cause for public health concern. This study examined the effects of perceived realism dimensions on personal probability estimation through identification and message minimization. Data collected from college students in U.S. Midwest in 2010 (N = 315) were analyzed with multilevel structural equation modeling. Plausibility and narrative consistency mitigated message minimization, but they did not influence identification. Factuality and perceptual quality influenced both message minimization and identification, but their effects were smaller than those of typicality. Typicality was the strongest predictor of probability estimation. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are provided.

Predictors of summer sun safety practice intentions among rural high school students.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between theoretically grounded psychosocial motivators and the sun safety practice intentions of rural youth. METHODS: A survey was given to 219 members of FFA (Future Farmers of America) at high schools in the rural Midwest (average age = 16). RESULTS: Perceived self-efficacy, peer norms, response efficacy, and susceptibility predicted protective clothing and sunscreen use intentions. Among boys, perceived norms among same-sex peers; but among girls, norms among both same- and opposite-sex peers, were significant. CONCLUSIONS: Self-efficacy should be an important component of sun safety education for rural youth. Gender-specific peer norms should also be addressed.