Introduction: We conducted a systematic review of the experimental literature on the impact of tobacco-pack pictorial warning labels (PWLs) on youth and young adults. Methods: We systematically searched computerized databases and the reference list of relevant articles. We included studies...

Mental illness affects a considerable number of African Americans, and Black men bare a heavy burden. Over the past few years, more and more Black male celebrities have publicly discussed their struggles with mental illness, aiming to raise awareness, educate the public, and reduce stigma around mental health in the Black community. In this exploratory study, I investigated Twitter conversations following hip-hop artist Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi’s October 2016 depression disclosure. Following the disclosure, the hashtag #YouGoodMan was created to engage Black men on Twitter in conversations about mental health. I used thematic analysis to analyze a sample of 1,482 tweets from the hashtag. Three distinct themes emerged from this study, with implications for mental health communication. The three themes are (a) advocating for mental health disclosure, (b) providing online and offline support, and (c) acknowledging the role and impact of culture and society. The findings are discussed relevant to social representations theory, celebrity influence, and health campaigns.

Celebrity health disclosures motivate people to seek information about various health topics. However, limited systematic evaluations exist on effects of celebrity disclosures of mental illness, despite observations that this is a growing phenomenon and have important implications for public health education. Further, research has rarely examined the impact of such disclosures on minority populations. This study sought to understand factors associated with young Black men’s information seeking following exposure to a depression disclosure by Scott Mescudi. Mescudi is a well-known Black male hip-hop artist who shared his depression diagnosis and subsequent treatment plans with his fans in October 2016. For this study, I surveyed 182 Black males aged 18–34, 1 month after the disclosure. Fifty percent sought general information about depression, and 16% sought information to ascertain whether they themselves were at risk for depression. Feeling emotional distress following the disclosure and having current depression symptoms were significantly associated with information seeking behaviors. Identification was indirectly related to information seeking through emotional distress. Thus, emotional distress appears to play an important role in information seeking behaviors following celebrity health disclosures. The findings suggest celebrity health disclosures are associated with proactive health behaviors among this sample. Implications of the results for theorization of celebrity health effects and research on mental health communication with young Black men are discussed.

We sought to describe characteristics and psychometric properties of measures used in pictorial cigarette pack warning experiments and provide recommendations for future studies. Our systematic review identified 68 pictorial cigarette pack warning experiments conducted between 2000 and 2016 in 22 countries. Two independent coders coded all studies on study features, including sample characteristics, theoretical framework, and constructs assessed. We also coded measurement characteristics, including construct, number of items, source, reliability, and validity. We identified 278 measures representing 61 constructs. The most commonly assessed construct categories were warning reactions (62% of studies) and perceived effectiveness (60%). The most commonly used outcomes were affective reactions (35%), perceived likelihood of harm (22%), intention to quit smoking (22%), perceptions that warnings motivate people to quit smoking (18%), and credibility (16%). Only 4 studies assessed smoking behavior. More than half (54%) of all measures were single items. For multi-item measures, studies reported reliability data 68% of the time (mean α = 0.88, range α = 0.68–0.98). Studies reported sources of measures only 33% of the time and rarely reported validity data. Of 68 studies, 37 (54%) mentioned a theory as informing the study. Our review found great variability in constructs and measures used to evaluate the impact of cigarette pack pictorial warnings. Many measures were single items with unknown psychometric properties. Recommendations for future studies include a greater emphasis on theoretical models that inform measurement, use of reliable and validated (preferably multi-item) measures, and better reporting of measure sources. Robust and consistent measurement is important for building a strong, cumulative evidence base to support pictorial cigarette pack warning policies. This systematic review of experimental studies of pictorial cigarette warnings demonstrates the need for standardized, theory-based measures.

Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia (referred to as AD) deteriorate over time, and there will likely be a corresponding increase in levels of burden and stress for caregivers. Despite the significant contributions made by informal caregivers, there are no widely available mechanisms that meet the information needs of informal caregivers. Using a qualitative approach, the current study focuses on AD caregiver information seeking. The study involved conducting interviews to answer the following research questions: (1) What motivating factors lead informal caregivers of people with AD to seek out information?; (2) Is there a relationship between information seeking and resulting perceived stress levels?; and (3) Why do informal caregivers choose to utilize certain resources more than others during their information seeking process? Findings revealed that caregivers’ largest motivation for seeking information is to learn how to better care for their loved one. Caregivers tend to rely on mediated resources that they find credible, and interpersonal resources such as people with similar experiences to their own. Many participants were satisfied with information available, but others felt that their interactions with healthcare professionals created more stress and emotional anguish than anticipated. This study offers an initial step in finding ways to meet the needs of those who seek to mitigate their stress through information seeking. By studying the information needs of the caregiving population, healthcare workers and communicators will be more knowledgeable about the relationship between information seeking and stress and coping.