Citation

Muralidharan S, Kim EA. Health Commun. 2019; ePub(ePub): 1-10.

Affiliation

Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism , University of Southern California.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10410236.2019.1623645

PMID

31155936

Abstract

Domestic violence stems from deeply rooted patriarchal norms and directly conflicts with humanitarian standards. Given that this issue impacts women across the world, many countries have initiated campaigns to heighten awareness and fight this epidemic. Based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), we explored whether narrative health messages might prompt bystanders to intervene (e.g., calling a helpline number) when they encounter domestic violence. Using a sample of participants from India, we found that narratives had a stronger impact on attitude toward the ad and reporting intention than non-narratives and such effects were mediated by feelings of empathy. More importantly, the mediating effects of empathy were significantly greater when bystander efficacy was low rather than high.

Language: en