NCJ Number
169989
Date Published
1984
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study collected data on television programming for two seasons, 1976-1977 and 1977-1978, to assess trends in the use of alcohol and other drugs on television.
Abstract
A composite week of television programming by three commercial networks was videotaped off-the-air. The week included prime time episodes and Saturday morning fictional series and excluded variety shows, public affairs, movies, sports, and miscellaneous nonfiction programs. About 60 hours from 80 different shows were videotaped. Specific behaviors and character interactions during shows were coded, and a special effort was made to identify and code all instances of specific drug abuse. In both seasons, alcohol predominated, accounting for more than two-thirds of all coded drug acts. More than two acts of alcohol use were found per hour in each season. Both types of Saturday shows, cartoons and live character programs, contained trivial incidences of alcohol use. Crime shows and situation comedies displayed about four instances of alcohol use per hour, while family dramas contained about two instances of alcohol use per hour. Blacks represented 6 percent of alcohol users, persons under 20 years of age were less likely than other age groups to use alcohol, and lower socioeconomic status characters were less likely than characters in other socioeconomic classes to use alcohol. Low frequencies of tobacco and other drug use in television programs were observed. Limitations of the analysis are noted. 11 references and 4 tables