An evaluation of a mass media campaign to encourage parents of adolescents to talk to their children about sex

Abstract

Purpose We evaluated a mass media campaign in North Carolina that used television (TV) public service announcements (PSAs), radio PSAs, and billboards to encourage parents of adolescents to talk to their children about sex. The primary message of the campaign was “Talk to your kids about sex. Everyone else is.” Methods Thirty-two of the 100 counties in North Carolina were chosen to evaluate the mass media campaign. Paid TV PSAs were aired in 22 of these counties, radio PSAs were aired in 21 counties, and billboards were displayed in 6 counties over a period of 9 months. The counties in our sample varied from no exposure to exposure to all 3 types of media. To assess the impact of the campaign, a sample of 1,132 parents of adolescents living in the 32 counties was administered a postexposure survey via a telephone interview. Questions about exposure to the media campaign were embedded among questions concerning media exposure to other health-related messages. The parent survey assessed the frequency the parents reported exposure to each type of media message, correct knowledge of the message, and multiple item scales that assessed how often they had talked to their child about various issues related to sex during the previous 6 months, intentions to talk to their child about these issues during the next month, and attitudes about discussing sexual issues with their child. Results In bivariate analyses the levels of parental exposure to the 3 types of media messages were associated with both having talked to their children and intentions to talk to their children about sex ( p < .0001). When analyzed with multiple regression, female gender, minority ethnicity, frequency of seeing a billboard on teenage pregnancy, frequency of seeing a TV PSA about sex, and frequency of hearing a radio PSA about sex and teenage pregnancy accounted for 12.8% ( p < .0001) of the variance in having talked to their child about sex. Female gender, minority ethnicity, and previously talking to their child about sex accounted for 9.9% of the variation in positive communication attitudes about sex. Positive communication attitudes, female parent, minority ethnicity, frequency of seeing a billboard about sex, frequency of seeing a TV PSA about sex, and frequency of hearing radio PSAs about sex accounted for 12.3% of the variation in parental intentions to talk to their child about sex during the next month. Conclusions Exposure to each component of this mass media campaign was associated with parents recently having talked to their adolescent children about sex and intentions to talk to their children during the next month.