TY - JOUR
T1 - Testing competing explanations for graphic warning label effects among adult smokers and non-smoking youth
AU - Skurka, Chris
AU - Byrne, Sahara
AU - Davydova, Julie
AU - Kemp, Deena
AU - Safi, Amelia Greiner
AU - Avery, Rosemary J.
AU - Dorf, Michael C.
AU - Mathios, Alan D.
AU - Niederdeppe, Jeff
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) (grant number R01-HD079612 ). The funders played no role in the study design; collection, analysis and interpretation of data; the writing of the manuscript; or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the Food and Drug Administration.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2018/8
Y1 - 2018/8
N2 - Rationale: The United States courts have blocked the implementation of graphic warning labels on cigarette packages (GWLs). This decision was based, in part, on the premise that GWLs are unnecessarily emotional and are meant to scare rather than inform consumers about smoking's health effects. However, research in judgment and decision-making suggests these relationships are more complex. Objective: In this article, we draw on several theoretical frameworks that lead to competing hypotheses about the relationships between negative affect, health risk beliefs, and quit intentions (among adult smokers) or susceptibility to start smoking (among non-smoking youth). Method: We tested these competing mediation models using data from two experiments with two populations each—adult smokers (Ns = 313 and 238) and primarily non-smoking middle-school youth (Ns = 340 and 237). Using mobile recruitment methods, we focused specifically on individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in rural and urban areas of the Northeastern United States. Results: The best fitting model across all four datasets was one in which label-induced negative affect (a) directly predicted intentions/susceptibility but also (b) indirectly predicted intentions/susceptibility via risk beliefs. Although mediation analyses did not demonstrate significant serial mediation effects of label exposure on intentions/susceptibility through negative affect then risk beliefs, there was some evidence that label exposure indirectly promoted adults' quit intentions through negative affect. Additionally, negative affect consistently mediated the indirect effect of label exposure on strengthened risk beliefs among adults and youth. Conclusions: These results speak to the importance of negative affect in directly motivating adult smokers' quit intentions but also serving an informational function, directing adult smokers and non-smoking youth to accept the health risks of smoking.
AB - Rationale: The United States courts have blocked the implementation of graphic warning labels on cigarette packages (GWLs). This decision was based, in part, on the premise that GWLs are unnecessarily emotional and are meant to scare rather than inform consumers about smoking's health effects. However, research in judgment and decision-making suggests these relationships are more complex. Objective: In this article, we draw on several theoretical frameworks that lead to competing hypotheses about the relationships between negative affect, health risk beliefs, and quit intentions (among adult smokers) or susceptibility to start smoking (among non-smoking youth). Method: We tested these competing mediation models using data from two experiments with two populations each—adult smokers (Ns = 313 and 238) and primarily non-smoking middle-school youth (Ns = 340 and 237). Using mobile recruitment methods, we focused specifically on individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in rural and urban areas of the Northeastern United States. Results: The best fitting model across all four datasets was one in which label-induced negative affect (a) directly predicted intentions/susceptibility but also (b) indirectly predicted intentions/susceptibility via risk beliefs. Although mediation analyses did not demonstrate significant serial mediation effects of label exposure on intentions/susceptibility through negative affect then risk beliefs, there was some evidence that label exposure indirectly promoted adults' quit intentions through negative affect. Additionally, negative affect consistently mediated the indirect effect of label exposure on strengthened risk beliefs among adults and youth. Conclusions: These results speak to the importance of negative affect in directly motivating adult smokers' quit intentions but also serving an informational function, directing adult smokers and non-smoking youth to accept the health risks of smoking.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.06.035
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.06.035
M3 - Article
C2 - 29980116
AN - SCOPUS:85049349302
SN - 0277-9536
VL - 211
SP - 294
EP - 303
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
ER -