An index tapping the frequency with which parents actively mediate children's interpretations of television messages is tested in a survey of 346 adolescents. The measures produce a reliable index, which predicts skepticism, public affairs media use, and public affairs discussion. When tested along with family communication norms including concept orientation, socio orientation, and communication warmth, mediation remains a significant predictor. It is the only significant predictor among the variables tested for skepticism, in which the variance explained remains small.

This article examines the immediate and delayed effects of media literacy training on third-grade children's perceptions of alcohol advertising, alcohol norms, expectancies for drinking, and behaviors toward alcohol. A Solomon four-group style experiment (N = 225) with two levels of the treatment factor assessed the effectiveness of in-school media literacy training for alcohol. The experiment compared a treatment that included the viewing of a videotape about television advertising along with the viewing of video clips of alcohol ads and discussion pertaining to alcohol advertising specifically versus one that included the viewing of the same general purpose media literacy videotape along with video clips of non-alcohol advertising and then discussion of advertising in general. The treatment had both immediate and delayed effects. Immediate effects included the children's increased understanding of persuasive intent, viewing of characters as less similar to people they knew in real life and less desirable, decreased desire to be like the characters, decreased expectation of positive consequences from drinking alcohol, and decreased likelihood to choose an alcohol-related product. Indirect effects also were found on their perceptions of television's realism and their views of social norms related to alcohol. Delayed effects were examined and confirmed on expectancies and behavior. The treatment was more effective when alcohol-specific, and it also was more effective among girls than boys.

A random telephone survey (N=582) of Washington state voters conducted in November 1994 examines relationships among mass media use, specific aspects of political disaffection, political efficacy and participation. Results suggest that negativism toward media campaign coverage reduces media use and that cynicism toward the political system reduces political efficacy. Negativism and media use also are negatively related to cynicism. Contrary to concerns expressed by some scholars and journalists concerning the negative impact of superficial media coverage on political participation, however, mass media use positively predicts voting behavior. In addition, negativism toward campaign tactics appears unrelated to political participation.

Objective. The process that connects media use with alcohol-related beliefs and behaviors has not been well documented. To address this issue, we examined adolescents9 viewing patterns, beliefs about alcohol and media messages, and parental discussion of media messages in the context of a theoretical model of message interpretation processes. Measures included the degree to which adolescents found portrayals desirable, realistic, and similar to their own lives; the degree to which they wanted to be like (identify with) the portrayals; and the degree to which they associated positive outcomes with drinking alcohol (expectancies). Design. Cross-sectional survey. Setting. Two public high schools in the California central coastal area that include a diverse population in terms of ethnic origin, income level, and education level. Participants. Ninth-grade students (n= 252) and 12th-grade students (n = 326). Outcome Measures. Students reported the number of days within the past week watching various genres of television content, along with perceptions of realism of content, desirability of portrayals, identification with portrayals, expectancies toward alcohol use, personal norms for alcohol use, desire for products with alcohol logos, current alcohol use, frequency of parental reinforcement, and counter-reinforcement of television messages. Associations were examined via hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Results. Effects of media exposure on drinking behavior, controlling for grade level, ethnicity, gender, household income, and education levels were primarily positive and indirect, operating through a number of intervening beliefs, especially expectancies (β = .59; r² = .33). Direct associations, primarily with exposure to late-night talk shows (β = .12; r² = .01), were small. Parental discussion also affected behavior indirectly, operating through expectancies, identification, and perceived realism. The appeal of products with alcohol logos, which was higher among the younger students (t = 3.44) and predicted by expectancies (β = .37; r² = .13), sports viewing (β = .17; r² = .03) and late-night talk shows (β = .10;r² = .01), predicted actual drinking behavior (β = .22; r² = .04). Drinking behavior was higher among the older students (t = −2.515). Conclusions. Adolescents make drinking decisions using a progressive, logical decision-making process that can be overwhelmed by wishful thinking. The potential risk of frequent exposure to persuasive alcohol portrayals via late-night talk shows, sports, music videos, and prime-time television for underage drinking is moderated by parental reinforcement and counter-reinforcement of messages. Interventions need to acknowledge and counter the appeal of desirable and seemingly realistic alcohol portrayals in the media and alert parents to their potential for unintended adverse effects. adolescents, alcohol use, media, television, parents, music videos, talk shows, norms, prevention, prime time, sports.