Citation

McClure AC, Gabrielli J, Cukier S, Jackson KM, Brennan ZLB, Tanski SE. Acad. Pediatr. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Pediatrics, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon NH 03756; Cancer Control, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Lebanon NH 03756; C. Everett Koop Institute, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon NH 03756.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Academic Pediatric Association, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.acap.2019.08.003

PMID

31401229

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Evidence suggests that adolescents are exposed to alcohol marketing in digital media. We aimed to assess recall of Internet alcohol marketing and its association with underage drinking.

METHODS: New England adolescents age 12-17 years (N=202) were recruited from a pediatric clinic. Subjects completed an online survey assessing: 1) general simple recall of Internet alcohol marketing and 2) image-prompted recall of specific Internet alcohol marketing channels (display ads, commercials, brand websites, brand social media pages). Cross-sectional associations between recall (simple and image-prompted) and ever-drinking were each assessed in regression analysis adjusting for age, gender, race, parent education, ever-smoking, media use, sensation-seeking, peer/parent drinking, parent monitoring/responsiveness, and parent Internet monitoring.

RESULTS: In this sample (Mage=14.5 years; 55% female; 89% white; high parent education), 20% reported ever-drinking and 87% recalled Internet alcohol marketing. Of the latter, 67% recalled display ads, 67% Internet commercials, 5% websites, 5% social media pages. In logistic regression, higher Internet alcohol advertising recall was independently associated with higher odds of ever-drinking for simple (AOR: 2.66 [1.04,6.83]) but not for image-prompted recall.

CONCLUSIONS: Despite controlling for potential confounders, simple recall of Internet alcohol marketing was significantly associated with underage drinking whereas image-prompted recall was significant only in bivariate analysis, likely due to small sample and a more limited range of specific channels assessed than those accessed by adolescents. Further longitudinal studies using image-prompted recall and capturing a broader range of internet platforms could be used to better understand adolescent engagement with alcohol marketing and guide policy and prevention efforts.

Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

Adolescence; Advertising; Alcohol use; Internet; Marketing; Youth