2003/04/01 by Cornelia Pechmann, Guangzhi Zhao, Marvin E. Goldberg +1 · 4 citations
Psychology · Arts and Humanities · Medicine · #Behavioral Health and Interventions #Media Influence and Health #Smoking Behavior and Cessation
paper · pdf · doi:10.1509/jmkg.67.2.1.18607
openalex publication_date 2003/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26
Antismoking advertising is increasingly used, but its message content is controversial. In an initial study in which adolescents coded 194 advertisements, the authors identified seven common message themes. Using protection motivation theory, the authors develop hypotheses regarding the message theme effects on cognitions and intentions and test them in an experiment involving 1667 adolescents. Three of the seven message themes increased adolescents’ nonsmoking intentions compared with a control; all did so by enhancing adolescents’ perceptions that smoking poses severe social disapproval risks. Other message themes increased health risk severity perceptions but were undermined by low perceived vulnerability.