Tag Archives: drinking behavior

Negative Drinking Consequences Do Not Alter Readiness to Change Behaviors in Young Adults: Is Peer Pressure King?

Consequences of drinking in general promote very mixed messages. First off, moderate consumption of alcohol (specifically, wine) is often touted as being beneficial to one’s health and is frequently encouraged. Drinking too much, on the other hand, is discouraged

Photo by Flickr user Ben Lesser (http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlesser/2154632525)
Photo by Flickr user Ben Lesser (http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlesser/2154632525)

across the board due to potential harm to oneself or others.

How do these behaviors affect one’s “readiness to change” consumption habits? I can certainly relate to when I was in college and how after a night or two of debauchery I swore up and down I would never drink that much again.

A new study, published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, focused on drinking behavior of young adults, and how these behaviors affect their “readiness to change” alcohol consumption habits.

Continue reading Negative Drinking Consequences Do Not Alter Readiness to Change Behaviors in Young Adults: Is Peer Pressure King?

Alcohol Ads on TV Linked to Binge Drinking in Underage Young Adults

Throughout the world, advertising for alcohol can get highly contested. Some groups claim alcohol advertising results in

Photo by Flickr user jo3hug (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14420602@N08/5908916583)
Photo by Flickr user jo3hug (http://www.flickr.com/photos/14420602@N08/5908916583)

increased alcoholism as well as negative influence over children, while those in the drinks industry rely on these advertisements to connect with their consumers.

A new study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics aimed to address these issues by examining how TV advertisements influence underage drinking.

1596 young adults between the ages of 15 and 23 completed phone and internet-based surveys related to alcohol advertising aired between 2010 and 2011 as well as their drinking habits.

Survey questions showed pictures of beverages seen during the 2010-2011 advertising campaigns with any branding signals (i.e. brand names, logos, etc) removed. Each participant answered 20 random survey questions.

“Alcohol receptivity” scores were determined based on participants’ answers to the survey questions. To determine alcohol receptivity scores, participants received a score of 1 for each question they marked as seeing the ad and liking it; and a score of 2 for correctly identifying the brand seen in the ad.

Continue reading Alcohol Ads on TV Linked to Binge Drinking in Underage Young Adults