Griffiths, MD

English

Nottingham Trent Institutional Repository (IRep)

Vol.28 No. 1, 20102 Education and HealthWhen we are looking for factors thatchange behaviour we can look insidethe individual for personal characteristicsthat make people vulnerable to engaging inrisky behaviours and we can look outsidethe individual for features of theenvironment that encourage thesebehaviours. This article briefly examines the way themedia may influence the development ofrisky behaviours (e.g., drug use, sexualbehaviour) in young people. Media effectsThe media (television, radio, newspapers,etc.) are an important channel for portrayinginformation and channellingcommunication. Knowledge about how themass media work may influence both thepromotion of potentially risky behaviour (asin advertising), and for the promotion ofhealth education (such as promotingabstinence or moderation of riskybehaviours) (Griffiths, 2009). Much of theresearch about advertising is carried out bythe companies themselves and thus remainsconfidential. The media, especially television and film,often portray risky behaviours (e.g., heroinaddiction in the film ‘Trainspotting’,marijuana use in the TV show ‘Weeds’,gambling addiction in the TV show‘Sunshine’, etc.). Because of this constant portrayal ofvarious risky behaviours, television and filmdramas often create controversy because ofclaims that they glorify potentially addictivebehaviour. The popularity of media dramadepicting various risky behaviours requiresan examination of their themes and thepotential impact on the public and, inparticular, adolescents. The portrayal of sex and druguse in popular moviesA study by Gunsekera and colleagues(2005) analysed the portrayal of sex anddrug use in the most popular movies of thelast 20 years using the Internet MovieDatabase list of the top 200 movies of alltime. The researchers excluded a number offilms including those released or set prior tothe HIV era (pre-1983), animated films, filmsnot about humans, and family films aimedat children. The top 200 films, following theexclusions, were reviewed by one of twoteams of two observers using a dataextraction sheet tested for inter-raterreliability. Sexual activity, sexuallytransmitted disease (STD) prevention, birthcontrol measures, drug use and anyconsequences discussed or depicted wererecorded. FindingsThere were 53 sex episodes in 28 (32%) ofthe 87 movies reviewed. There was only onesuggestion of condom use, which was theonly reference to any form of birth control.There were no depictions of importantconsequences of unprotected sex such asunwanted pregnancies, HIV or other STDs. Dr. Mark D. Griffiths is the Professor of Gambling Studies at the International Gaming Research Unit, Psychology Division Nottingham TrentUniversity, Nottingham. For communication please email: mark.griffiths@ntu.ac.ukMark D. GriffithsMedia and advertising influences onadolescent risk behaviour281C.qxd  04/03/2010  12:38  Page 2Vol.28 No. 1, 2010                                                                                                      Education and Health 3Movies with cannabis (8%) and othernon-injected illicit drugs (7%) were lesscommon than those with alcoholintoxication (32%) and tobacco use (68%) buttended to portray their use positively andwithout negative consequences. There wereno episodes of injected drug use. Theresearchers concluded that sex depictions inpopular movies of the last two decadeslacked safe sex messages. Drug use, thoughinfrequent, tended to be depicted positively.They also concluded that the social normbeing presented in films was of greatconcern given the HIV and illicit drugpandemics.Drug use in this context could be arguedto illustrate a form of observational learningakin to advertisement through productplacement. A similar study by Roberts andcolleagues (2002) examined drug use withinpopular music videos. Whilst depictions ofillicit drugs or drug use were relatively rarein pop videos, when they did appear theywere depicted on a purely neutral level, ascommon elements of everyday activity.The makers of such drama argue thatpresenting such material reflects the factthat risk behaviours are everywhere and cutacross political, ethnic, and religious lines.Risk-inducing behaviours (e.g., addiction)are certainly an issue that impacts allcommunities. However, it is important toconsider possible impacts that it might haveon society. Media influencing behavioursEmpirical research suggests that the massmedia can potentially influence behaviours.For example, research indicates that themore adolescents are exposed to movieswith smoking the more likely they are tostart smoking (Dalton et al. 2003).Furthermore, research has shown that thelikeability of film actors and actresses whosmoke (both on-screen and off-screen)relates to their adolescent fans' decisions tosmoke (Distefan et al. 1999). Perhapsunsurprisingly, films tend to stigmatisedrinking and smoking less than other formsof drug taking (Cape, 2003).However, the media transmit numerouspositive messages about drug use and otherpotentially risky behaviours, and it isplausible that such favourable portrayalslead to more use by those that watch them(Will, Porter, Geller, & DePasquale, 2005). Anecdotally, some things may bechanging. For instance, there appears to bemore emphasis on the media's portrayal ofalcohol as socially desirable and positive asopposed to smoking that is increasinglybeing regarded as anti-social and dangerous(Griffiths, 2009).Advertising effectsBack in the mid-1990s, the BritishPsychological Society called for a ban on theadvertising of all tobacco products. This callwas backed up by the government's ownresearch which suggested a relationshipbetween advertising and sales (Griffiths,2009). Additionally, in four countries thathave banned advertising (New Zealand,Canada, Finland and Norway) there hasbeen a significant drop in tobaccoconsumption. However, public policy is notalways driven by research findings, and thepowerful commercial lobby for tobacco hasconsiderable influence. In her reply to the British PsychologicalSociety, the Secretary of State for Health (atthe time) rejected a ban saying that theevidence was unclear on this issue andefforts should be concentrated elsewhere.This debate highlights how issues ofaddictive behaviours cannot be discussedjust within the context of health. There arealso political, economic, social and moralcontexts to consider as well. The British government and EuropeanCommunity made commitments to bantobacco advertising though they found itdifficult to bring it in as quickly as theyhoped. It is now rare to see smokingadvertised anywhere in the UK but there isa new trend in television drama and films to281C.qxd  04/03/2010  12:38  Page 3Vol.28 No. 1, 20104 Education and Healthset the action in a time or location wheresmoking is part of the way of life (forexample the recent US televisionprogramme ‘Mad Men’).Gambling advertisingJust as the British Government havebanned cigarette advertising and bannedsmoking in public places, they have alsoderegulated gambling through theintroduction of the 2005 Gambling Act. ThisAct came into effect on September 1st 2007and allowed all forms of gambling to beadvertised in the mass media for the firsttime. This has led to a large number ofnightly television adverts for betting shops,online poker, and online bingo. Whetherthis large increase in gambling advertisingwill impact on gambling participation andgambling addiction remains to be seen. There have been very few studies thathave examined gambling advertising andthose that have been done are usually smallscale and lack representativeness. Aworldwide review on gambling advertisingand its impact on problem gamblingconcluded that the empirical base was toosmall to make any firm conclusions(Griffiths, 2005).A US study by Youn, Faber and Shah(2000) examined the 'Third-Person Effect'(TPE) in relation to gambling advertising.The TPE postulates that media messageshave a greater impact on others than they doon themselves. Youn et al. (2000)hypothesised that some people believe thatlottery and casino advertising campaignsadversely affect other people but do notaffect themselves. Therefore, those whoclaim they are unaffected might supportcensorship of gambling advertising. Younand colleagues carried out a survey of 194adults in a US mid-western city wherelottery and casino gambling are legal. Theywere asked about their gambling behaviour,their attitudes about gambling advertisingon themselves and other people, andquestions concerning gambling censorship.Most people were defined as 'ordinary'gamblers who gambled two or three times amonth. Their results showed a significantrelationship between the Third Personperception and gambling advertising (inboth casino and lotteries). People did indeedthink that casino and lottery advertising hadmore impact on others in comparison tothemselves. They also found that theperceived effects of gambling advertisingpredicted their desire to censor theadvertisements. While this is an interestingstudy and suffers from the usual limitations(e.g., representativeness of the sample), itfails to differentiate between differentadvertising forms. For instance, the effectmight be more powerful with broadcastmedia over print media. ConclusionsA brief examination of the literature onmedia influence on risky behaviours has ledGriffiths (2009) to conclude that:Glamorisation versus reality is complicated:The issue of glamorisation versus reality iscomplicated. Although the drama producershope to depict accurately various riskybehaviours, they still need to keep ratingsup. Clearly, positive portrayals are morelikely to increase ratings and programmesmight favour acceptance of (say) drug useover depictions of potential harms.Research on the role of media effects isinconclusive: More research on how themedia influence drug use is needed in orderto evaluate the impact of such drama. Withmedia and risky behaviours, it is importantto walk with caution, as the line betweenreality and glamorisation is easy to cross.More research is needed that investigatesdirect, indirect, and interactive effects ofmedia portrayals on risky behaviour.Relationship between advertising and riskybehaviour is mostly correlational: The literatureexamining the relationship betweenadvertising on the uptake of potentiallyrisky behaviour is not clear cut and mostlycorrelational in nature, therefore it is not281C.qxd  04/03/2010  12:38  Page 4Vol.28 No. 1, 2010                                                                                                      Education and Health 5possible to make causal connections.There could be different media effects fordifferent risky behaviours: Although thereappears to be some relationship betweentobacco advertising and tobacco uptake, thisdoes not necessarily hold for all riskybehaviours. For instance, Nelson (2001)claims that virtually all econometric studiesof alcohol advertising expenditures come tothe conclusion that advertising has little orno effect on market wide alcohol demand. Research done to date may not be suitable:Survey research studies have failed tomeasure the magnitude of the effect ofadvertising on youth intentions orbehaviour in a manner that is suitable forpolicy analysis. As a consequence, policymakers may introduce and/or changepolicy that is ineffective or not needed onthe basis of research that was unsuitable inanswering a particular question.ReferencesCape, G. S. (2003). Addiction, stigma, and movies. ActaPsychiatrica Scandinavica, 107, 163-169. Dalton, M.A., Sargent, J.D., Beach, M.L., Titus-Ernstoff,L., Gibson, J.J., Aherns, M.B., & Heatherton, T.F. (2003).Effect of viewing smoking in movies on adolescentsmoking initiation: A cohort study. Lancet, 362, 281-285. Distefan, J. M., E. A. Gilpin, et al. (1999). Do movie starsencourage adolescents to start smoking? Evidence fromCalifornia. Preventive Medicine, 28, 1-11. Griffiths, M.D. (2005).  Does advertising of gamblingincrease gambling addiction? International Journal ofMental Health and Addiction, 3 (2), 15-25.Griffiths, M.D. (2009). The psychology of addictivebehaviour. In M. Cardwell, M., L. Clark, C. Meldrum & A.Waddely (Eds.), Psychology for A2 Level. London:Harper Collins.Gunasekera, H. Chapman, S. Campbell, S. (2005). Sexand drugs in popular movies: An analysis of the top 200Films. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 98, 464-470.Nelson, J.P. (2001). Alcohol advertising and advertisingbans: A survey of research methods, results, and policyimplications. In M.R. Baye & J.P. Nelson (Eds.),Advances in Applied Microeconomics, Volume 10:Advertising and Differentiated Products (Chapter 11).Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.Roberts, D.F., Christenson, P.G. Henriksen, L. & Bandy,E. (2002). Substance Use in Popular Music Videos.Office Of National Drug Control Policy. Will, K. E., B. E. Porter, et al. (2005). Is television ahealthy and safety hazard? A cross-sectional analysis ofat-risk behavior on primetime television. Journal ofApplied Social Psychology, 35, 198-22Youn, S.F., Faber, R.J. & Shah, D,V. (2000). Restrictinggambling and the third-person effect. Psychology andMarketing, 17, 633-649.281C.qxd  04/03/2010  12:38  Page 5

Addiction, stigma, and movies.

Alcohol advertising and advertising bans: A survey of research methods, results, and policy implications.

Do movie stars encourage adolescents to start smoking? Evidence from California.

Does advertising of gambling increase gambling addiction?

Effect of viewing smoking in movies on adolescent smoking initiation: A cohort study.

Is television a healthy and safety hazard? A cross-sectional analysis of at-risk behavior on primetime television.

Sex and drugs in popular movies: An analysis of the top 200 Films.

Substance Use in Popular Music Videos. Office Of National Drug Control Policy.

The psychology of addictive behaviour. In

Media and advertising influences on adolescent risk behaviour

Media and advertising influences on adolescent risk behaviour

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