NCJ Number
217346
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 36 Issue: 4 Dated: Fall 2006 Pages: 809-830
Date Published
2006
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study examined the relationships between exposure to four types of mass communication and adolescent attitudes toward anabolic steroids.
Abstract
Results revealed that exposure to both newspapers and television predicted adolescents’ attitudes toward anabolic steroids. Female respondents held more negative views of anabolic steroid use than did males and estimated lower levels of anabolic steroid use among professional athletes than male and minority respondents. Exposure to magazine stories on anabolic steroid use, particularly in Sports Illustrated, was associated with estimates of drug use among professional athletes. Respondents who saw more than one television spot per day warning against anabolic steroids grew weary of the message and reported attitudes similar to those of respondents who saw no television spots. The findings suggest that young people do pay attention to differing forms of mass communication and that their attitudes are consistent with the attributes emphasized in media reports. However, the findings also suggest that adolescents discount anti-drug messages that contain exaggerated information and are broadcast on a continual basis. Data were drawn from the 2003 wave of the national longitudinal survey, Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of American Youth. Data were collected on 2,560 youth regarding demographic characteristics, exposure to 4 types of mass communication--magazines, newspapers, movies, and television, anabolic steroid and other drug use, athletic participation, estimate of risk from steroids, and attitudes toward steroids. Data were examined using a series of logistic regression models. Future research should continue to focus on the relationship between mass communication and knowledge acquisition among adolescents, particularly in terms of attitudes about performance-enhancing drug use. Tables, notes, references