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