The Myriad Influences of Alcohol Advertising on Adolescent Drinking

Through the looking glass: An alcohol advertisement every 3 minutes

INTRODUCTION

There is growing concern over the lack of regulation of alcohol advertisements on social media platforms frequented by youths. This study aims to build upon existing literature by assessing the frequency with which young Australians (17-25) are shown advertisements promoting alcohol use and the themes utilised in these advertisements.

METHODS

A total of 125 Australian youths (mean age 18.74 years; 74.40% female) were recruited in exchange for course credit to participate in an online study. Participants scrolled through Facebook or Instagram for a period of 30 min and screenshotted any alcohol advertisements encountered. Participants then identified the advertisement qualities (or 'themes') present in the advertisements, based on pre-identified categories. Demographic, social media usage and historical personal, peer or familial substance use behaviour data was also collected.

RESULTS

Seventy-one university students were exposed to 796 alcohol advertisements across both platforms, and they encountered an advertisement every 2 min and 43 s on average. Most advertisements included call to action features on both Facebook (78.80%) and Instagram (71.17%). Advertisements relating to ease of access (promoting subscription/home delivery; 41.72% and 42.56%) and sales incentives (special offers, promotions, samples or bonuses with purchase; 43.70% and 46.84%) were most common across both platforms.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol advertisements are highly prevalent online, particularly among Australian youth social media users. Future research should endeavour to identify whether temporal use of alcohol is a predictor of subsequent exposure to alcohol advertising on social media, and whether this exposure is likely to increase successive alcohol use behaviours.

Not all norm information is the same: Effects of normative content in the media on young people's perceptions of e-cigarette and tobacco use norms

Norm information in media can predict individuals' norm perceptions and, ultimately, their behavior. Little research has examined how descriptive norm information manifests in media and impacts beliefs in the real world. Previously, using automated content analysis, we measured and examined longitudinal trends in two types of descriptive norm information, individual use depictions and population norms, pertaining to tobacco and e-cigarette use across six media sources from 2014-2017. Here, we assess how this norm information affected norm perceptions over time by pairing these data with a rolling cross-sectional survey of young people's beliefs and intentions related to these behaviors. We found that individual use depictions predicted some norm perceptions, although the direction of effects varied depending on the source, behavior, and type of perceptions considered. Population norm content did not affect perceptions. These findings highlight that real-world media norm information has real-world effects, and moderators of these effects should be studied.

The potential adverse effects of minors' exposure to alcohol-related stimuli via licenced venues: A narrative review

ISSUES

Young people are particularly impressionable when it comes to forming expectations and attitudes around alcohol consumption. Any stimuli that normalise and foster positive expectations around alcohol use may increase the risk of underage alcohol consumption. Alcohol venues that market themselves as being appropriate 'family friendly' establishments for children risk exposing minors to environments that are saturated with alcohol-related stimuli. However, research examining how exposure to licenced venues affects underage people is very limited. The aim of this narrative review was to identify and synthesise relevant evidence to better understand how attending these venues might affect minors.

APPROACH

A narrative review of research published between January 2016 and November 2022 was conducted to investigate the potential effects on underage people of exposure to licenced venues and stimuli encountered in/around these venues. Examined stimuli included alcohol advertising, people consuming alcohol and alcohol outlets.

KEY FINDINGS

The reviewed literature indicates that the risk of alcohol-related harm among minors is likely to increase with greater exposure to alcohol venues due to the associated exposure to alcohol advertising, exposure to others consuming alcohol and higher outlet density. In combination, these factors are likely to normalise alcohol consumption for minors and create positive alcohol expectancies.

IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION

Venues serving alcohol should be discouraged from targeting families and parents should be warned about the risks associated with taking minors to venues where alcohol is sold and consumed.

Alcohol-Induced Mortality in the USA: Trends from 1999 to 2020

This study comprehensively examined trends in alcohol-induced overdose mortality in the USA between 1999 and 2020 by age, sex, race/ethnicity, census region, and type of injury. Using the CDC WONDER database, 605,948 alcohol-induced deaths were recorded. Mortality increased by 14.1% per year (95% CI 8.2, 20.3) from 2018 to 2020, with the highest rates among males, non-Hispanic Whites, individuals aged 55-64, and the Western census region. Rising trends were observed across racial/ethnic subgroups, except for American Indians/Alaska Natives, with annual increases of 17% among non-Hispanic Blacks, 14.3% among non-Hispanic Whites, 9.5% among Asian/Pacific Islanders, and 12.6% among Hispanics. Males, females, all age groups, and census regions also experienced increasing trends. In conclusion, this study underscores worsening alcohol-induced mortality in the recent two decades and the need for research to identify its determinants. Such research can guide evidence-based public health interventions to reduce excessive alcohol use consequences.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11469-023-01083-1.

Gender Matters: Identity, Risk Perception and Preventive Interventions for Alcohol Consumption among Adolescents Using a Qualitative Approach

The epidemiological information available in Spain and the Community of Madrid highlights two relevant facts regarding alcohol consumption: an increase in binge drinking in teenagers and a reduction/reversal of the gender gap, particularly at young ages. This article aims to describe some of the factors related to alcohol use in teenagers, especially those related to gender and risk perception. A qualitative study was designed with semi-structured interviews and a discussion group with students from the city of Madrid aged 14 to 18 years. A descriptive analysis of the content of the replies of 28 teenagers was conducted. The results show that alcohol consumption has an identity component, both in terms of transition to adulthood and gender role performance. Consumption is also associated with risks, especially those determined by gender inequality, which teenagers learn to manage as a means of survival in nightlife. Preventive campaigns typically lack a gender perspective and a focus on risk prevention. To reduce the prevalence of consumption and associated risks, these strategies need to be reformulated with a gender perspective.

Role of alcohol media literacy in alcohol use among children and adolescents: a systematic review

Enhancing alcohol media literacy (AML) is a critical strategy to attenuate negative effects of alcohol-related media messages. We aimed to systematically review previous studies on AML in children and adolescents. Through database and hand searches, we identified four non-experimental and 13 experimental studies. From the 17 studies, we extracted data on theoretical framework, AML measures, intervention contents and main findings. Our review revealed the following. First, nine and four studies used a single theory and at least two theories, respectively. The most frequently used theory was the Message Interpretation Process model. Second, 13 studies assessed AML using participant self-reporting or evaluators’ ratings of participant performance, but no study reported validities of AML measures. Eight studies assessed tobacco or general media literacy as well as AML. Third, all experimental studies used three to five media literacy core concepts proposed by the Center for Media Literacy in AML interventions. Finally, all non-experimental studies found strong cross-sectional associations between higher AML and improved drinking outcomes; all experimental studies found strong intervention effects, such as an increase in AML or improvement in drinking outcomes. In addition, intervention effects differed across participants’ gender and drinking experiences. Given our review, health professionals should implement strategies to enhance children and adolescents’ AML. Future research should investigate (i) causal inferences in non-experimental studies, (ii) long-term intervention effects in experimental studies and (iii) differences in intervention effects across participants’ characteristics, while using solid theoretical frameworks and multidimensional AML concepts.

Prospective associations between attitudes toward alcohol advertisements and alcohol use behaviors among adolescent boys

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Exposure to alcohol advertisements is associated with drinking among adolescents.

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Little is known about attitudes toward advertisements and drinking.

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Positive attitudes toward advertisements affect alcohol use prospectively.

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Media literacy programs should address attitudes toward alcohol advertisements.

Objectives

Earlier initiation of alcohol use and problematic drinking among adolescents are linked with adverse health outcomes. Exposure to alcohol advertisements is associated with drinking among adolescents, but the association between the attitudes toward alcohol advertisements and drinking behaviors is understudied. We evaluated the association between attitudes towards alcohol advertisements and initiation of alcohol use among adolescent boys.

Methods

Adolescent boys from urban and Appalachian Ohio enrolled in a prospective study and reported whether they had ever consumed alcohol or been drunk at baseline (N = 1220; ages 11–16 years) and at the 24-month follow up (N = 891). Attitudes toward alcohol advertisements were measured at baseline following a brief advertisement viewing activity. Adjusted logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between attitudes toward advertisements and initiating alcohol use or drunkenness at the 24-month follow-up.

Results

Adolescent boys reporting any positive attitudes toward alcohol advertisements had higher odds of initiating alcohol use (aOR = 2.00, 95% CI [1.16, 3.44]), and attitudes were marginally associated with incident drunkenness (aOR = 2.20, 95% CI [0.94, 5.12]). Increasing age, higher household income, ever use of tobacco, and frequency of visiting alcohol retailers were also associated with greater odds of incident alcohol use and/or drunkenness.

Conclusions

Attitudes toward alcohol advertisements at baseline were associated with alcohol drinking behaviors 24-months later among adolescent boys. Results highlight the importance of media literacy interventions targeted to adolescents.

The association between child alcohol sipping and alcohol expectancies in the ABCD study

BACKGROUND

Underage drinking is a serious societal concern, yet relatively little is known about child sipping of alcohol and its relation to beliefs about alcohol. The current study aimed to (1) examine the contexts in which the first sip of alcohol occurs (e.g., type of alcohol, who provided sip, sip offered or taken without permission); (2) examine the association between sipping and alcohol expectancies; and (3) explore how different contexts of sipping are related to alcohol expectancies. We expected to find that children who had sipped alcohol would have increased positive expectancies and reduced negative expectancies compared to children who had never sipped alcohol.

METHODS

Data were derived from the 2.0 release of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a longitudinal study of children in the United States. We utilized data from 4,842 children ages 9-11; 52% were male, 60% were White, 19% were Hispanic/Latinx, and 9% were Black/African American.

RESULTS

We found that 22% of the sample had sipped alcohol. Children reported sipping beer most frequently, and the drink most often belonged to the child's father. We found that children who had sipped had higher positive alcohol expectancies than children who had not while accounting for variables related to alcohol expectancies. Child sipping was not significantly associated with negative expectancies and the context of the first sip of alcohol was not significantly associated with positive and negative expectancies.

CONCLUSIONS

Providing sips of alcohol to children is associated with them having more favorable expectations about drinking.

Shaping Alcohol Health Literacy: A Systematic Concept Analysis and Review

Background:

This study uses an innovative methodology to understand the implications of applying the emerging concept of health literacy to other contexts using the example of alcohol.

Methods:

An evolutionary concept analysis combined with the principles and standards of the systematic review process enables a rigorous analysis of the conceptual representation of alcohol health literacy.

Key Results:

Alcohol health literacy includes a wide range of attributes that encompass many different health literacies beyond simply the capacity to understand alcohol-related harms and use that information in decision-making. Alcohol health literacy empowers people to understand alcohol marketing and messages and how alcohol information is distributed through social networks. It is an outcome of media-related alcohol education, and its consequences include health action skills and realistic expectancies of alcohol.

Discussion:

The focus on health literacy, which emphasizes not only individual skills but also draws attention to the social determinants of alcohol use and how alcohol health literacy is shaped by social networks and interactions, provides important lessons for alcohol health promotion interventions. Health literacy when applied to alcohol includes many different domains and the innovative method used here provides a framework to develop interventions that build health literacy in different contexts. [HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice. 2020;4(1):e3–e20.]

How much are we exposed to alcohol in electronic media? Development of the Alcoholic Beverage Identification Deep Learning Algorithm (ABIDLA)

BACKGROUND

Evidence demonstrates that seeing alcoholic beverages in electronic media increases alcohol initiation and frequent and excessive drinking, particularly among young people. To efficiently assess this exposure, the aim was to develop the Alcoholic Beverage Identification Deep Learning Algorithm (ABIDLA) to automatically identify beer, wine and champagne/sparkling wine from images.

METHODS

Using a specifically developed software, three coders annotated 57,186 images downloaded from Google. Supplemented by 10,000 images from ImageNet, images were split randomly into training data (70 %), validation data (10 %) and testing data (20 %). For retest reliability, a fourth coder re-annotated a random subset of 2004 images. Algorithms were trained using two state-of-the-art convolutional neural networks, Resnet (with different depths) and Densenet-121.

RESULTS

With a correct classification (accuracy) of 73.75 % when using six beverage categories (beer glass, beer bottle, beer can, wine, champagne, and other images), 84.09 % with three (beer, wine/champagne, others) and 85.22 % with two (beer/wine/champagne, others), Densenet-121 slightly outperformed all Resnet models. The highest accuracy was obtained for wine (78.91 %) followed by beer can (77.43 %) and beer cup (73.56 %). Interrater reliability was almost perfect between the coders and the expert (Kappa = .903) and substantial between Densenet-121 and the coders (Kappa = .681).

CONCLUSIONS

Free from any response or coding burden and with a relatively high accuracy, the ABIDLA offers the possibility to screen all kinds of electronic media for images of alcohol. Providing more comprehensive evidence on exposure to alcoholic beverages is important because exposure instigates alcohol initiation and frequent and excessive drinking.

Alcohol Marketing and Adolescent and Young Adult Alcohol Use Behaviors: A Systematic Review of Cross-Sectional Studies

OBJECTIVE

This article provides a systematic review of cross-sectional research examining associations between exposure to alcohol marketing and alcohol use behaviors among adolescents and young adults.

METHOD

Literature searches of eight electronic databases were carried out in February 2017. Searches were not limited by date, language, country, or peer-review status. After abstract and full-text screening for eligibility and study quality, 38 studies that examined the relationship between alcohol marketing and alcohol use behaviors were selected for inclusion.

RESULTS

Across alcohol use outcomes, various types of marketing exposure, and different media sources, our findings suggest that cross-sectional evidence indicating a positive relationship between alcohol marketing exposure and alcohol use behaviors among adolescents and young adults was greater than negative or null evidence. In other words, cross-sectional evidence supported that alcohol marketing exposure was associated with young peoples' alcohol use behaviors. In general, relationships for alcohol promotion (e.g., alcohol-sponsored events) and owning alcohol-related merchandise exposures were more consistently positive than for other advertising exposures. These positive associations were observed across the past four decades, in countries across continents, and with small and large samples.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite issues of measurement and construct clarity within this body of literature, this review suggests that exposure to alcohol industry marketing may be important for understanding and reducing young peoples' alcohol use behavior. Future policies aimed at regulating alcohol marketing to a greater extent may have important short- and long-term public health implications for reducing underage or problematic alcohol use among youth.

Recruiting the "Heavy-Using Loyalists of Tomorrow": An Analysis of the Aims, Effects and Mechanisms of Alcohol Advertising, Based on Advertising Industry Evaluations

Restricting alcohol advertising and marketing is a cost-effective intervention for reducing alcohol harms. However, the alcohol industry maintains that advertising does not affect consumption, claiming that its purpose is to help consumers choose brands, it is not aimed at young people, it only promotes "responsible consumption", and any relationships with consumption are not causal. We reviewed 39 case studies (1981-2016) published by the advertising industry, which evaluate the effects of alcohol advertising campaigns. We used these to examine these industry claims. 30/39 (77%) of the case studies mentioned increasing/maintaining market share as an objective, or used this to assess the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. Most (25/39, 64%) found that campaigns increased consumption-related outcomes. Some campaigns targeted women, and heavy drinkers (e.g., Stella Artois lager, Famous Grouse whisky). Campaigns often (13/39, 33%) targeted younger drinkers. These data show that advertising does influence market share. Other effects reported in the case studies include changing the consumer profile towards: younger drinkers, women, new/lapsed drinkers, and heavy drinkers. They also present evidence of a causal relationship between advertising and consumption. In conclusion, this analysis, based on industry data, presents significant new evidence on (i) the effects of alcohol advertising on consumption-related outcomes, and (ii) the mechanisms by which it achieves those effects.

Impact of exposure to alcohol marketing and subsequent drinking patterns among youth and young adults

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the impact of exposure to any form of alcohol marketing, compared to less exposure or no exposure, on alcohol consumption patterns among youth and young adults up to and including the age of 25 years (we want to be able to look at potential dose response relationships at different levels of exposure).