Attitudes toward TV advertising: A measure for children

Abstract

A new self-report measure of children's attitudes toward TV advertising is described. The self-report scale was administered to 300 8- to-10-year-old children, and their parents completed a questionnaire evaluating socioeconomic status, educational level, and peer influence. Results of a factor analysis supported three identifiable factors reflecting theoretically based constructs of children's attitudes toward TV advertising: enjoyment, credence and behavioral-intention. The scale showed good convergent validity and internal consistency. Credence of TV advertising decreases significantly across age groups. Environmental factors also are significant predictors of children's attitude toward TV advertising. The implications of the findings for future theoretical and empirical development of research in this field are discussed.