Messages that increase women’s intentions to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy: results from quantitative testing of advertising concepts

BMC Public Health

Anne E Bartu²  Heather D’Antoine¹  Janet M Payne¹  Elizabeth J Elliott⁴  Carol Bower¹  Robert J Donovan³  Kathryn E France⁵ 

[1]Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, The University of Western Australia, PO Box 855, West Perth, Western Australia 6872, Australia

[2]School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty Health Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia

[3]Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer Control, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia

[4]Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Locked Bag 4001, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia

[5]School of Marketing, Tourism and Leisure, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, Western Australia 6027, Australia

关键词: FASD;    Fear;    Self-efficacy;    Threat;    Campaigns;    Messages;    Pregnancy;    Advertising;    Alcohol;   

Others  :  1161353
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-14-30

 received in 2013-04-12, accepted in 2014-01-02,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Public awareness-raising campaigns targeting alcohol use during pregnancy are an important part of preventing prenatal alcohol exposure and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Despite this, there is little evidence on what specific elements contribute to campaign message effectiveness. This research evaluated three different advertising concepts addressing alcohol and pregnancy: a threat appeal, a positive appeal promoting a self-efficacy message, and a concept that combined the two appeals. The primary aim was to determine the effectiveness of these concepts in increasing women’s intentions to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy.

Methods

Women of childbearing age and pregnant women residing in Perth, Western Australia participated in a computer-based questionnaire where they viewed either a control or one of the three experimental concepts. Following exposure, participants’ intentions to abstain from and reduce alcohol intake during pregnancy were measured. Other measures assessed included perceived main message, message diagnostics, and potential to promote defensive responses or unintended consequences.

Results

The concepts containing a threat appeal were significantly more effective at increasing women’s intentions to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy than the self-efficacy message and the control. The concept that combined threat and self-efficacy is recommended for development as part of a mass-media campaign as it has good persuasive potential, provides a balance of positive and negative emotional responses, and is unlikely to result in defensive or unintended consequences.

Conclusions

This study provides important insights into the components that enhance the persuasiveness and effectiveness of messages aimed at preventing prenatal alcohol exposure. The recommended concept has good potential for use in a future campaign aimed at promoting women’s intentions to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 France et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Department of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs: FASD: The Hidden Harm - Inquiry into the Prevention, Diagnosis and Management of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia; 2012.
• [2]National Health and Medical Research Council: Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia; 2009.
• [3]Henderson J, Gray R, Brocklehurst P: Systematic review of effects of low-moderate prenatal alcohol exposure on pregnancy outcome. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 2007, 14(3):243-252.
• [4]O’Leary C, Heuzenroeder L, Elliott EJ, Bower C: A review of policies on alcohol use during pregnancy in Australia and other English-speaking countries, 2006. Med J Aust 2007, 186(9):466-471.
• [5]Kyskan CE, Moore TE: Global perspectives on fetal alcohol syndrome: assessing practices, policies, and campaigns in four English-speaking countries. Can Psychol 2005, 46(3):153-165.
• [6]Nathansan V, Jayesinghe N: Is it alright for women to drink small amounts of alcohol in pregnancy?No. BMJ 2007, 335(7625):857.
• [7]Drabble L, Poole N, Magri R, Tumwesigye N, Li Q, Plant M: Conceiving risk, divergent responses: perspectives on the construction of risk of FASD in six countries. Subst Use Misuse 2011, 46(8):943-958.
• [8]Leppo A, Hecksher D: The rise of the total abstinence model: recommendations regarding alcohol use during pregnancy in Finland and Denmark. Nordic Stud Alcohol Drugs 2011, 8:7-27.
• [9]Warren KR, Hewitt BG: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: when science, medicine, public policy, and laws collide. Dev Disabil Res Rev 2009, 15(3):170-175.
• [10]Connolly-Ahern C, Broadway SC: “To booze or not to booze?” newspaper coverage of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Sci Commun 2008, 29(3):362-385.
• [11]Lowe P, Lee E: Advocating alcohol abstinence to pregnant women: some observations about British policy. Health Risk Soc 2010, 12(4):301-311.
• [12]Gavaghan C: “You can’t handle the truth”; medical paternalism and prenatal alcohol use. J Med Ethics 2009, 35:300-303.
• [13]O’Leary C, Bower C: Guidelines for pregnancy: What’s an acceptable risk, and how is the evidence (finally) shaping up? Drug Alcohol Rev 2012, 31:170-183.
• [14]Donovan R, Henley N: Principles and practice of social marketing: an international perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2010.
• [15]Elliott L, Coleman K, Subebwongpat A, Norris S: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD): systematic reviews of prevention, diagnosis and managment. HSAC Report 2008., 1(9)
• [16]Deshpande S, Basil M, Basford L, Thorpe K, Piquette-Tomei N, Droessler J, Cardwell K, Williams R, Bureau A: Promoting alcohol abstinence among pregnant women: potential social change strategies. Health Mark Q 2005, 23(2):45-67.
• [17]Bazzo S, Battistella G, Riscica P, Moino G, Marini F, Geromel M, Czerwinsky L: Evaluation of the impact of the image used in a communication campaign to raise awareness about the effects of alcohol use during pregnancy. Alcohol Alcohol 2012, 47(6):657-662.
• [18]France K, Donovan R, Henley N, Bower C, Elliott E, Payne J, D’Antoine H, Bartu A: Promoting abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy: implications from formative research. Subst Use Misuse 2013, 14:1509.
• [19]Cismaru M, Deshpande S, Thurmeier R, Lavack AM, Agrey N: Preventing fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: the role of protection motivation theory. Health Mark Q 2010, 27(1):66-85.
• [20]Urban GL, Hauser JR, Dholakia N: Essentials of new Product Management. Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ; 1987.
• [21]Bradley KA, DeBenedetti AF, Volk RJ, Williams EC, Frank D, Kivlahan DR: AUDIT-C as a brief screen for alcohol misuse in primary care. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2007, 31(7):1-10.
• [22]Australian Bureau of Statistics: 2033.0.55.001 - Census of Population and Housing: Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), Australia, 2006. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics; 2008.
• [23]Hair J, Black W, Babin B, Anderson R, Tatham R: Multivariate Data Analysis. 6th edition. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ; 2006.
• [24]Sutton S: Fear-arousing communications: a critical examination of theory and research. In Social Psychology and Behavioural Medicine. Edited by Eiser J. New York: John Wiley; 1982.
• [25]Witte K, Allen M: A meta-analysis of fear appeals: implications for effective public health campaigns. Health Educ Behav 2000, 27(5):591-615.
• [26]Saskatchewan Prevention Institute: Creating Effective Primary Prevention FASD Resources: Evaluation Processes in Health Promotion. Saskatoon: Saskatchewan Prevention Institute; 2009.
• [27]Burgoyne W, Willet B, Armstrong J: Reaching women of childbearing age with information about alcohol and pregnancy through a multi-level health communication campaign. J FAS Int 2006, 4(e17):1-12.
• [28]Koren G: Alcohol consumption in early pregnancy. How much will harm a fetus? Can Fam Physician 1996, 42:2141-2143.
• [29]Rogers R: A protection motivation theory of fear appeals and attitude change. J Psychol 1975, 91:93-114.
• [30]Witte K: Putting the fear back into fear appeals: the extended parallel process model. Commun Monogr 1992, 59(4):329-349.
• [31]Kaskutas L: Understanding drinking during pregnancy among urban American Indians and African Americans: health messages, risk beliefs, and how we measure consumption. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2000, 24(8):1241-1250.