Effects of Responsibility Attribution and Message Source on Young Adults' Health Attitudes and Behaviors

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of message attributes on responses to health messages. The authors examined 3 variables—responsibility attribution (individual vs. social), source (personal blog vs. online magazine), and illness (stigmatized vs. nonstigmatized)—for effects on young adults' health-related attitudes and behaviors. Responsibility attributions influenced attitudes about individual responsibility for health but did not alter participants' behavioral intentions. Further, individuals exposed to a story from a health magazine exhibited stronger intentions to communicate about health than individuals exposed to a personal health blog. Although women's attitudes regarding social responsibility for health did not differ by illness type or responsibility attribution, men's attitudes did.