PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Adolescents have anytime, anywhere access to media on smartphones and other portable devices—often in the absence of adult supervision. This media, which is a significant source of information for youth, frequently features images of and references to alcohol, and associates alcohol use with social, sexual, and financial success—with little depiction of the hazards of drinking. Although adolescents are high consumers of this media, not much is known about the impact of this content on their drinking behavior.
A new $2.5M grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) awarded to Kristina M. Jackson, Ph.D., professor of behavioral and social sciences at the Brown University School of Public Health, will be used to launch a new research project in the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies titled “Understanding Adolescent In-Vivo Exposure to Alcohol Content in the Media.”
Jackson’s project includes four study aims: to quantify and characterize exposure to alcohol content in entertainment and social media, to examine associations between exposure to alcohol media content and alcohol use across short- and long-term timeframes, to identify mechanisms of this association by using key individual and contextual risk factors, and to capture participants’ understanding of the perceived impact of alcohol-related media content on their own attitudes and behavior.
The project includes a survey of three hundred adolescents ages fifteen to eighteen who will complete a series of three-week assessment protocols using a smartphone app in which participants will provide feedback when they encounter alcohol content. This strategy is designed to inform the best timing of future intervention delivery.
“The grant will make it possible for us to understand the impact of media on risks for drinking and related problems in youth,” Dr. Jackson said. “Ultimately, our goal is to help young people use social media effectively while protecting themselves from some of its downsides.”
Dr. Jackson and her team ultimately hope to better answer the fundamental question of how media alcohol content elevates underage drinking risk and to inform next steps in preventive media literacy intervention research.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Understanding Adolescent In-Vivo Exposure to Alcohol Content in the Media, R01AA027968