Viewing images of alcohol use in PG-13-rated movies and alcohol initiation in Mexican-heritage youth

Alcohol imagery in popular films in China, 2001-2020

This study aims to identify the level and trend of alcohol imagery in popular films in China from 2001 to 2020. We divided the running time of the annual 20 top-grossing films in China into 5-min intervals and coded those containing alcohol imagery, the presence of warnings, whether the imagery was related to minors and alcohol brands. Results showed that alcohol imagery occurred in 90.75% (363/400) of the films and 25.26% (2380/9423) of the intervals; these proportions remained stable over time. No film containing alcohol imagery had warnings, alcohol imagery related to minors appeared each year, and 103 alcohol brands were present in 185 intervals across 93 of the 400 films. Chinese films contained more alcohol imagery than international films. National policies are required to restrict alcohol imagery in films and to reduce the availability of such films for viewing by young people.

Alcohol Advertising Exposure and Drinking Habits Among Chinese Adolescents in 2021: A National Survey

Objectives. To assess the exposure of Chinese adolescents to proalcohol advertising and explore its association with alcohol consumption. Methods. A nationally and regionally representative school-based survey was conducted in mainland China in 2021 among students in grades 7 through 12, aged 13 to 18 years. We assessed adolescent exposure to proalcohol advertising and its association with alcohol consumption. Results. A total of 57 336 students participated in the survey, and the exposure percentage of proalcohol advertising was 66.8%, with no difference between boys and girls or between urban and rural areas. The top 3 exposure channels were television (51.8%), the Internet (43.6%), and outdoor billboards (42.0%). The exposure was higher among students who had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days (80.1% vs 65.1%; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.29) and in the past 12 months (77.3% vs 61.7%; AOR = 1.30). However, no significant correlation was observed between advertising exposure and drunkenness. Conclusions. Approximately two thirds of Chinese adolescents have been exposed to proalcohol advertising in the past 30 days, with television, the Internet, and outdoor billboards being the most prevalent channels. Exposure to proalcohol advertising exhibits a positive correlation with drinking. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(8):814-823. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307680).

Nearly Five Times Higher than We Think: How Much People Underestimate the Amount of Alcohol in Popular Movies and What Predicts Underestimation?

Reducing alcohol use is challenging due to the volume of alcohol shown in media and the relationship between exposure and use. It is unclear to what degree people are aware of and able to estimate alcohol exposure in the media, such as in movies. In this study, 609 Australian adults estimated the amount of alcohol exposure in up to 10 of 102 popular movies they remembered best. They reported when they last saw each movie, their alcohol use, age, and gender. Participants underestimated the amount of alcohol in movies by an average of 35.39 times. Movies classified as featuring adult content (PG-13 or R) and movies with the greatest amount of alcohol were particularly underestimated. Individual’s age, gender, alcohol use, or when the movie was last viewed had no effect on underestimation. In conclusion, due to the severe underestimation, alcohol exposure should be more seriously reviewed by governmental and medial organizations.

Emotional symptoms and sensation seeking: Implications for tobacco interventions for youth and young adults

INTRODUCTION

Although emotional symptoms and sensation seeking are recognized as important risk factors for tobacco use among youth and young adults, to date, their joint influence on tobacco use has not been examined.

METHODS

Data used in this study are from the Texas Adolescent Tobacco and Marketing Surveillance study, a population-based cohort. At baseline, in 2014, participants were in the 10th grade. Mixed-effects logistic regression models examined associations between emotional symptoms and sensation seeking in 2014 and odds of past 30-day cigarette and e-cigarette use in 2018. Interactions between emotional symptoms and sensation seeking were examined to assess whether one modifies the effect of the other on cigarette and e-cigarette use.

RESULTS

After adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, school type, and ever use of cigarettes or e-cigarettes at baseline, adolescents with high emotional symptoms (AOR_cig=1.97; 95% CI:1.07–3.60, and AOR_e-cig=1.68; 95% CI: 1.06–2.66) and with high sensation seeking tendencies (AOR_cig=2.05; 95% CI: 1.03–4.10, and AOR_e-cig=1.68; 95% CI: 1.02–2.76) had significantly higher odds of past 30-day cigarette and e-cigarette use four years later compared to adolescents with low emotional symptoms and low sensation seeking tendencies. The interaction was significant (p=0.01) for e-cigarette use only; among low sensation seekers, adolescents who reported high levels of emotional symptoms were at increased risk for past 30-day use (AOR_e-cig=3.43; 95% CI: 1.38–8.51), and among adolescents with low emotional symptoms, high sensation seekers were at increased for risk for past 30-day use (AOR_e-cig=3.50; 95% CI: 1.54–7.91).

CONCLUSIONS

It is important for tobacco use prevention programs to consider both behavioral risk factors – sensation seeking and emotional symptoms – in an integrative way, to target high risk subgroups and thereby increase the efficacy of existing effective intervention strategies in order to curb tobacco use among youth and young adults.

Adolescents' Perceived Drinking Norms Toward Alcohol Misuse: An Integrative Review

The purpose of this integrative review is to synthesize prior research on the relationship between adolescents' perceived subjective and descriptive drinking norms and their drinking intention and behaviors. Four databases (CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane, and Sociological Abstracts) were searched to identify relevant articles. Thirty-one peer-reviewed articles published from 2010 to 2020 were reviewed. The results highlight that adolescents' perceived drinking norms derived from their parents and peers, such as approving or disapproving attitudes, significantly influence adolescents' drinking intention and behaviors. Moreover, pro-drinking messages, advertisements, and postings from electronic media (i.e., TV, movies, and the Internet) and online social networks (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) shape adolescents' drinking intention and encourage adolescents to initiate alcohol consumption early and/or escalate their drinking. Thus, future interventions should focus on subjective drinking norms that stem from interpersonal relationships in combination with perceived descriptive drinking norms derived from various media exposure.

Substance Use Portrayal in Oscar-nominated Movies

BACKGROUND

As one of the forms of media and art most consumed in the world, Oscar-nominated movies should have their drug use representation monitored because of possibly influencing but also reflecting society's behavior.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate drug use representation in scenes from movies nominated for the Academy Awards (Oscar) from 2008-2011, through media content analysis.

METHODS

437 scenes from Oscar-nominated movies (best film, best actor and best actress categories) showing drug consumption and/or its effects were assessed. Each drug represented and identified in a given scene (i.e., drug use incident) was counted as a unit for the present study (n = 515). Survey settings were used to control for over- or under-estimation of the prevalence of a variable in a given year or movie.

RESULTS

All the Oscar-nominated movies portrayed at least one scene of drug use. There was a massive predominance of alcohol and tobacco in movies, with a high use among men who also use drugs, habitually or occasionally, but related to stress/tension, predominantly at home. However, there was a significant progressive increase in the use of drugs other than alcohol and tobacco, multiple drugs, and by women.

CONCLUSION

These findings echo epidemiological studies on substance use in western countries, an overall trend towards greater home drug use representation and gender convergence since 1970, which increased since 2000. Monitoring drug use representation in Oscar-nominated movies may represent an important public health tool.