Effects of responsibility attribution and message source on young adults' health attitudes and behaviors

Who or what is to blame? Examining sociodemographic relationships to beliefs about causes, control, and responsibility for cancer and chronic disease prevention in Alberta, Canada

BACKGROUND

Beliefs about causes and responsibility for chronic diseases can affect personal behaviour and support for healthy policies. In this research we examined relationships between socio-demographics (sex, age, education, employment, political alignment, perceived health, household income, household size) and perceptions of causes and responsibility for health behaviour, chronic disease correlates, and attitudes about cancer prevention and causes.

METHODS

Using data from the 2016 Chronic Disease Prevention survey in which participants (N = 1200) from Alberta, Canada responded to items regarding how much they believed personal health behaviours, prevention beliefs, and environmental factors (i.e., healthy eating, physical activity, alcohol, smoking, and where a person lives or works) are linked to getting cancer. Participants also responded to questions about causes and responsibility for obesity, alcohol, and tobacco (i.e., individual or societal). Relationships were examined using multinomial logistic regression on socio-demographics and survey items of interest.

RESULTS

Men (compared to women) were less likely to link regular exercise, or drinking excessive alcohol, to reducing or increasing cancer risk. Similarly, men were less likely to link environmental factors to cancer risk, and more likely to agree that cancer was not preventable, and that treatment is more important than prevention. Finally, men were more likely to believe that alcohol problems are an individual's fault. Left and central voters were more likely to believe that society was responsible for addressing alcohol, tobacco, and obesity problems compared to right voters. Those with less than post-secondary education were less likely to believe that regular exercise, maintaining a healthy body weight, or eating sufficient fruits and vegetables were linked to cancer - or that society should address obesity - compared to those with more education. Households making above the median income (versus below) were more likely to link a balanced diet with cancer and were less likely to think that tobacco problems were caused by external circumstances.

CONCLUSIONS

These results provide insight into the importance of health literacy, message framing, and how socio-demographic factors may impact healthy policy. Men, those with less education, and those with less income are important target groups when promoting health literacy and chronic disease prevention initiatives.

Friends over Doctors? The Influences of Source and Perceived Customization on College Drinking

College drinking, often associated with college binge drinking, is a critical issue in the United States and may lead to harmful consequences such as academic failure, injury, sexual assault, and even death. Health interventions targeted at reducing problematic drinking are needed to help prevent these harmful behaviors among college students. The current work explores the intersection of different types of information sources (e.g., authority and peer) and perceived customization on various health-related outcomes related to college drinking (e.g., trust, attitudes, and behavioral intentions). Undergraduate students (N = 448) were presented with health information regarding college drinking in a 2 (perceived customization or non-customization) × 3 (authority, peer, or technology source) between-subjects experimental design. We found a strong effect of peer source of health information, somewhat surprisingly more effective than information from a professional source (i.e., a medical physician). Moreover, the results underscore the importance of not only promoting perceived customization but also fostering a sense of agency with such interface features. Theoretical and practical implications for health-related outcomes are discussed.

"I Believe What I See": College Students' Use of Media, Issue Engagement, and Perceived Responsibility Regarding Campus Sexual Assault

The topic of campus sexual assault has received much media attention recently, prompting scholars to examine media effects on students' attitudes and behaviors. A survey of 567 American college students examined how their media exposure is related to issue engagement, perceived responsibility, and acceptance of rape myths. Results indicated that reading newspaper stories about campus sexual assault might contribute to college students' victim blaming. Among other media channels examined, social media were found to be highly correlated with students' engagement with the issue. We also found that victim blaming and acceptance of rape myths could be reduced by raising students' perceived importance of the issue. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in detail.

Stigma's Effect on Social Interaction and Social Media Activity

Stigmatized topics, such as HIV/STD, likely constrain related information sharing in ways that should be apparent in social interactions both on and off the Internet. Specifically, the authors predicted that the more people perceive an issue as stigmatized, the less likely they are to talk about the issue both privately (with sexual partners and peers) and publicly (on Twitter). Study 1 tested the effect of stigma on conversations at the individual level: The authors asked a group of participants (N = 138) about perceived STD-testing stigma, interactions with a sexual partner, and conversations with peers about STD testing. Study 2 assessed whether health conditions, in the aggregate, were less likely to generate social media activity as a function of current stigmatization. Using 259,758 archived Twitter posts mentioning 13 medical conditions, the authors tested whether level of stigma predicted the volume of relevant social media conversation, controlling for each condition's amount of advocacy and Google search popularity from a user's perspective. Findings supported our hypotheses. Individuals who reported perceiving a given health conditions in more stigmatic ways also reported interacting less with others about that topic; Twitter results showed a similar pattern. Results also suggest a more complex story of influence, as funding from the National Institutes of Health (i.e., each conditions amount of advocacy) associated with the examined health conditions also predicted Twitter activity. Overall, these results indicated that stigma had a similar, dampening effect on face-to-face and Twitter interactions. Findings hold theoretical and practical implications, which are discussed.