Alcohol Portrayals Research Articles

Alcohol in the mass media and drinking by adolescents: a longitudinal study.

Data from a longitudinal study carried out in Dunedin, New Zealand, were used to investigate associations between alcohol consumption at age 18 years and alcohol-related mass media communications recalled at ages 13 and 15 years. The respondents' recall of alcohol-related mass media material were categorized as: commercial alcohol advertising, alcohol moderation messages or the portrayal of alcohol in entertainment. An additional media variable was the number of hours spent watching television. Non-media variables, such as peer approval of drinking, living situation and occupation (all at age 18 years) were also included in the analyses. The period between the interviews at ages 13 and 15 years saw an increase in the broadcast of commercial alcohol advertisements on television in New Zealand and this was reflected in an increase in the proportion of the mass media material recalled which was categorized as commercial advertising. At age 15 years television advertising, mostly for beer companies, was the predominant material recalled. No relationships were found between the commercial advertising and wine and spirits consumption, among either men or women, but young women who had watched more hours of television drank more wine/spirits. Among women there were two unexpected negative relationships between recall of alcohol in the media at age 13 years and beer consumption. However, among men there was a consistent positive relationship such that those who had recalled more alcohol advertisements at age 15 years drank larger quantities of beer at age 18 years.

Effects of interpretations of televised alcohol portrayals on children's alcohol beliefs

The model of television interpretation processes introduced by Austin, Roberts, and Nass (1990) is tested in the context of alcohol portrayals, receiving considerable support in a cross‐sectional survey of 154 at‐risk pre‐adolescents. The results suggest that children develop expectancies through an interpretation process that is both logical and emotional, making use of both real‐life and televised sources of information. It is argued that an effective strategy for the prevention of alcohol abuse must help children develop skepticism toward televised portrayals of alcohol use and must address the primary role played by parents as information sources and as behavioral models.

Drinking on television: a content analysis of recent alcohol portrayal

The portrayal of alcohol on British television was examined in a systematic sample of 50 programmes broadcast in 1988. Nearly three-quarters of the programmes contained visual or verbal references to alcohol. On average, there was a reference to alcohol in every six and a half minutes of programming. Alcohol was most prominently featured in fictional programmes, particularly in one soap opera, Eastenders. A third of the programmes showed specific brands of alcohol. It is estimated that the portrayal of alcohol in Britain's most popular programmes is worth pounds 487 million of free promotion to the alcohol industry per annum. Nevertheless, in comparison with an earlier study, carried out in 1986, there appeared to be fewer alcohol images. A number of recommendations are made for further action and monitoring of alcohol portrayal.

Portrayals of alcohol on prime-time television.

Alcohol portrayals were analyzed for a 3-week composite sample of prime-time fictional television programs aired in the fall of 1986. Approximately 64% of the 195 episodes contained one or more appearances of alcohol. Alcohol was ingested on 50% of all programs. Overall, there were 8.1 alcohol drinking acts per hour. Movies made-for-television had the highest rate of drinking acts per hour (10.0) followed by situation comedies (9.2) and then theatrical movies (7.4) and dramas (7.4). Within the category of dramas, evening soap operas stand out with 13.3 acts per hour. Drinking and nondrinking characters were compared on a number of attributes relevant to role modeling. Regularly appearing characters were more likely to drink than nonregular characters. Drinking characters also tended to be of high status, largely being white, upper-class professionals. A time trend analysis showed a regular increase in alcohol on television from 1976 to 1984, reaching 10.2 acts in 1984. After 1984 the trend appears to reverse.

Booze on the box: The portrayal of alcohol on British television: a content analysis

The portrayal of alcohol was examined in a systematic sample of 50 programmes broadcast on British television. Four out of five programmes contained visual or verbal references to alcohol. On average, there was a reference to alcohol in every 6 minutes of programming. The programmes showed more alcohol being consumed than soft drinks or beverages, but there were few references to the hazards of alcohol consumption. The main recommendation is that television companies should accept a responsibility for presenting a more realistic and healthier approach to the use of alcohol in Britain

Drinking, sex, and violence on television: the cultural indicators perspective.

This article explores the portrayal of alcohol, alcoholics, and drinking in annual week-long samples of prime-time network dramatic programs. While references to alcohol and drinking have increased rather steadily since 1969, the number of alcoholics in each yearly sample has remained stable. The harmful effects of drinking alcoholic beverages were rarely mentioned. Programs that mention alcohol were also likely to have references to sexual behavior. The characters seen drinking alcoholic beverages—about 37 percent of all major characters—do not differ dramatically from other major characters. Alcoholics, however, are treated quite negatively. Respondents, especially whites and those who have been to college, from the 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1983 NORC General Social Surveys who watch four or more hours of television each day are somewhat less likely to reply that they occasionally drink alcoholic beverages than respondents who watch less television. Data from these surveys also reveal that smoking is positively related to television viewing-those respondents who say they watch four or more hours of television each day are also likely to respond that they smoke.

The portrayal of alcohol on television

THIS paper presents the results of a systematic con tent analysis of the portrayal of alcohol in two weeks of prime time television programmes. The analysis takes its point of departure in the argument that, in order to begin to understand the possible contri bution of television to alcohol-related beliefs and practices, it is necessary to look beyond the tra ditional research focus on persuasive communi cation, and examine the images of alcohol in television programmes generally. The analysis shows that alcohol images are prominent, particu larly in fictional programmes. Alcohol consumption is associated with pleasant sociable behaviour and with glamorous and affluent life-styles. There is little portrayal of the potentially negative effects and con sequences of drinking. Directions for further research are suggested.

Trends in tobacco use on television.

A two-week composite sample of prime time television programming from fall 1984 was analyzed for portrayals of alcohol and tobacco. Earlier studies note that smoking acts have progressively declined, suggesting smoking is no longer as frequent on prime time television. The current study notes higher levels of smoking. This could be an indication that smoking is returning, and/or related to recent programming changes featuring more dramas on prime time television.

An analysis of alcohol portrayal on prime-time television.

A content and functional analysis of alcohol use was conducted on the 15 most popular prime-time television programs in late 1979. These shows were videotaped and then rated by two independent observers. Interrater agreement, averaged over all code categories, was 91%. Results indicated that alcohol use and verbalizations about alcohol are frequent occurrences on prime-time television. Antecedent conditions to alcohol ingestion were identified. However, no consistent behavioral consequences of alcohol use were observed.

Alcohol Portrayal in a New Zealand Soap Opera

The portrayal of alcohol use in the mass media, particularly television, has received considerable attention in the United States in the last decade. In an attempt to obtain comparative material the portrayal of alcohol use in a popular New Zealand television 'soap opera' was examined. The ratings of use obtained were found to be comparable with both United Kingdom and United States programmes which received high ratings of alcohol use.

Television portrayal of alcohol and other beverages.

Monitoring of three television stations representing the three major networks was performed to analyze the frequency that alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages were used or referred to, including differences between types of programs, time of day, networks, and programs and advertisements.