Drench effects of media portrayal of fatal virus disease on health locus of control beliefs

Pornographic Video Consumption and Partner Preference Among Chinese Male Sexual Minorities: The Moderating Role of Perceived Realism

A growing body of research documents that the use of pornography is becoming more frequent among male sexual minorities. According to the sexual script acquisition, activation, application model of mediated sexual socialization (3AM), pornography can be considered a potential factor influencing an individual's partner preference. In addition, perceived realism could moderate the link between pornography consumption and partner preferences. This study explored the relationship between pornographic video consumption and partner preference among male sexual minorities and the moderating role of perceived realism. A total of 595 male sexual minorities aged 18 to 47 years (M = 21.70, SD = 3.83), including 82.9% gay men and 17.1% bisexual men, were enrolled in the study. Our results revealed the following: (1) The frequency of pornographic video consumption and male sexual minorities' preferences for appearance and sexual ability in partner selection were positively correlated (r = .06/.07, ps < .05). (2) When perceived realism was low, pornographic video consumption was not significantly associated with appearance and sexual ability preference. (3) Conversely, when perceived realism was high, pornographic video consumption was positively associated with appearance and sexual ability preference (β = .17/.16, ps < .01). Findings highlight the mechanisms behind pornographic video consumption and partner preference in sexual minority males.

Opioids in Satirical News Shows: Exploring Topics, Sentiments, and Engagement in Last Week Tonight on YouTube

Prescription drug misuse and opioid overdose have become one of the most serious health crises in the US health system. In this study, we examined Last Week Tonight as hosted by John Oliver in order to explore topics, sentiments, and reactions by referring to online comments on YouTube. Using an unsupervised machine learning approach, we analyzed 33,741 user generated comments taken from three selected episodes published between 2016 and 2021. Our results revealed 13 topics: the politicization of the opioid crisis, side effects of opioid use, seeking help, legal issues, reactions to the John Oliver show, drug addiction, the US in comparison with other countries, case settlements, the drug business, addiction and pharmaceutical companies, profitability of companies from deaths, drugs and elections, as well as general awareness and education. In addition, we found that opioid side effects, seeking help, and the drug business had received the highest user engagements in terms of likes and replies. Our study suggests that comments with positive sentiments were more likely to cause a more widespread engagement from YouTube users than negative comments.

Sexually Explicit Internet Media Consumption and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Chinese Male Sexual Minorities: The Moderating Role of Perceived Realism

Western research has suggested that viewing sexually explicit internet media (SEIM) may result in sexual risk behaviors (SRBs) among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. This study explored the relationship between SEIM consumption and SRBs and whether perceived realism could moderate this relationship among Chinese male sexual minorities. We assessed SEIM consumption from two aspects: consumption frequency and preference for specific content (condomless and group sex). This study recruited 360 participants from various online channels. Consistent with the sexual script acquisition, activation, application model (₃AM), we found that both SEIM consumption frequency and content preference were related to SRBs, and that perceived realism moderated the relationship between SEIM consumption and SRBs. Preference for group sex SEIM was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of casual sex when perceived realism was higher. SEIM use frequency was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of unprotected anal intercourse when perceived realism was higher. These findings may be used to promote HIV prevention, which necessitates joint effort from multiple stakeholders.

Medical Drama Viewing and Medical Trust: A Moderated Mediation Approach

This study investigates the relationship between medical drama viewing and medical trust, applying the cultivation theory and using a moderated mediation approach. A multigroup Structural Equation Modeling analysis of survey data on 983 U.S. adults indicates that exposure to medical dramas is positively associated with perceived realism of medical dramas, which in turn is positively associated with trust in physicians in medical dramas, and this trust in physicians in medical dramas is positively associated with trust in physicians in the real world. The study suggests that perceived realism of and trust in physicians in medical dramas mediate the relationship between medical drama viewing and medical trust, with health literacy moderating this cultivation process. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Medical Drama Viewing and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors: Understanding the Role of Health Locus of Control Beliefs and Education Level

The present study advances the understanding of how medical drama viewing influences healthy lifestyle behaviors (e.g., smoking, exercising, and consuming vegetables) by examining the role of the health locus of control (HLOC) beliefs and education level. An analysis of nationally representative data reveals that watching medical dramas is positively associated with chance and powerful others' HLOC beliefs. In addition, healthy lifestyle behaviors are positively associated with the internal HLOC belief and are negatively associated with the chance and powerful others' HLOC beliefs. Research findings demonstrate that there are indirect effects of medical drama viewing on these behaviors via chance and powerful others' HLOC beliefs. The indirect effect through the powerful others' HLOC belief is also contingent on the education level. The implications for the role of HLOC beliefs and education level in terms of the effects of medical dramas on health-promoting behaviors are discussed.

"Warriors": impact of a powerful television drama on the psychological health of U.K. Bosnia peacekeepers

PURPOSE

The impact of secondary trauma, such as watching powerful images on television, on the etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder in adults remains controversial. We explored the impact of a powerful TV drama ("Warriors") on the psychological health of U.K. peacekeeping troops compared with other military personnel who also saw the program but did not deploy on the same mission.

METHODS

Psychological health (health perception, fatigue, posttraumatic stress reactions and common mental disorders) was assessed via questionnaire in a group of 1463 U.K. Armed Forces personnel before and after the televising of an award-winning dramatic reconstruction ("Warriors") of events in Former Yugoslavia, a deployment in which some of the respondents had participated (Bosnia group) and some who had not (Era group). Information was also collected on whether participants had seen Warriors.

RESULTS

Those who had deployed to Bosnia were more likely to have watched the drama, and viewers were more likely to be posttraumatic stress reactions and common mental disorders cases before transmission of the program. There were few health differences between viewers and nonviewers, and Bosnia viewers and Era viewers, posttransmission. Viewing status and group status (Bosnia/Era) restricted to viewers only did not predict posttransmission health outcomes, with one exception. Group status (viewers only) was a significant predictor of posttransmission fatigue, with Bosnia viewers more likely to be cases. Additional analyses, however, revealed the same finding for nonviewers.

CONCLUSIONS

We found no evidence that those with symptoms of traumatic distress avoided watching a drama relevant to their experiences and no evidence of adverse effects on mental health.

Serious as a heart attack: health-related content of late-night comedy television

Although the medical community hoped that Vice President Dick Cheney's public experiences with heart problems and subsequent treatments would serve to raise awareness, educate the public about heart disease and treatment options, and showcase advances in cardiac care, late-night comedians saw Cheney's health problems as joke fodder. Comedians like Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O'Brien ridiculed Cheney in their monologues, suggesting the vice president was frail, weak, and near death-certainly not a "poster boy" for contemporary cardiac care. This investigation presents a textual analysis of late-night comedy monologue jokes from July 25, 2000, to October 7, 2003. The themes that emerge in the jokes include Cheney's infirmity, his questionable fitness for office, and ridicule for his state-of-the-art defibrillator. Implications of health-related content in late-night comedy programs are offered, including the potential impacts on health knowledge and attitudes toward illness. This study takes an important step toward understanding health messages in an unconventional yet powerful media venue.