Prevention Practice in Substance Abuse

Carl G Leukefeld, Richard R Clayton

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781317837404
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Addiction in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Here is helpful information about joint activities for prevention researchers and practitioners. Prevention Practice in Substance Abuse provides cutting-edge information related to prevention research and practice. Too frequently, researchers and practitioners do not communicate from a basic understanding of concepts and principles. This book begins to fill that void by providing information and recommendations for practitioners and researchers to develop projects jointly so both groups become more effective in their work.Chapters in Prevention Practice in Substance Abuse are grouped into three areas: background chapters contain information related to prevention in the United States, data-based chapters present the most recent national and international evaluation findings, and conceptual chapters stimulate thought about drug abuse prevention. A concluding chapter explores recommendations for joint activities and presents methods for both practice and research to enhance knowledge development. Specific topics addressed by the contributing authors include:

• mass media campaigns
• morality and substance abuse
• Hungarian adolescent drug abuse
• parenting practices
• social influences-oriented substance abuse prevention curricula
• choosing a paradigm to guide research and practicePrevention Practice in Substance Abuse is an ideal guide for drug and alcohol practitioners and researchers who wish to become more effective in their work using strategies for cooperating with each other to combat the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol.

Reaching At-Risk Populations in a Mass Media Drug Abuse Prevention Campaign: Sensation Seeking as a Targeting Variable

Philip Palmgreen, PhD

Elizabeth Pugzles Lorch, PhD

Lewis Donohew, PhD

Nancy Grant Harrington, PhD

Margaret Dsilva, PhD

David Helm, PhD

Philip Palmgreen is Professor, Department of Communication; Elizabeth Pugzles Lorch is Associate Professor, Department of Psychology; Lewis Donohew is Professor, Department of Communication; and Nancy Grant Harrington is Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, all at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506. Margaret Dsilva is Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292. David Helm, Research Analyst, was affiliated with the Center for Prevention Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506.

This research was supported by Grant #DA06892-04 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to Lewis Donohew, Philip Palmgreen, Elizabeth P. Lorch, and the University of Kentucky. The work was carried out under the auspices of the Center for Prevention Research at the University of Kentucky.

SUMMARY. Sensation seeking, which research indicates is a biologically-based personality variable, is strongly related to both drug use and preferences for highly novel, arousing, and/or unconventional messages and TV programs. This connection was the basis of a targeting strategy in a five-month televised anti-drug PSA campaign in a medium-sized market aimed at high sensation seeking young adults. Data from several sources demonstrate that the campaign, involving messages designed for and placed in programming popular with high sensation seekers, was successful in reaching target audience members with prevention messages and motivating them to call a hotline featuring alternatives to drug abuse.

Although the early promise of mass media campaigns for directly affecting human behavior has not yet been achieved, especially on public health issues (Atkin, 1979; Flay, 1981, 1983), the ability of the media to reach broad audiences almost instantly has led to continued efforts to make campaigns effective. In recent years, more sophisticated approaches which permit specific identification of target audiences and pretesting of messages through formative research have led to greater success (Donohew & Harrington, in press). In this article, we report on a field study which draws upon a program of research on drug abuse prevention and psychological targeting guided by an audience attention model (Donohew, Palmgreen & Duncan, 1980; Donohew, Finn & Christ, 1988; Everett, 1993). The principal aim is to assess the effectiveness of this message targeting strategy in a five-month television anti-drug PSA campaign in a medium-sized market (Lexington, Kentucky). The research involved design of messages (PSAs) using focus groups comprised of persons meeting target audience criteria, professional production of the PSAs, and placement of the PSAs in programming most favored by this audience.

In previous studies we established (Donohew, Helm, Lawrence & Shatzer, 1990; Donohew, Palmgreen & Lorch, 1991; Palmgreen, Donohew, Lorch, Rogus, Helm & Grant, 1991) that a strong connection exists between drug use and sensation seeking-a biologically-based personality measure characterized by the seeking of novelty, complexity, and/or physical sensation (Zuckerman, 1979; 1983; 1988). We also have developed procedures for formative research in which messages were designed specifically for these at-risk audiences (Donohew et al., 1991; Palmgreen et al., 1991). These messages, in the form of televised PSAs, have been highly successful with appropriate target audiences in laboratory settings, but questions remain about their effectiveness in actual campaigns. In order to compete with programming and product advertisements, PSAs must be capable of immediately attracting and holding the attention of target audience members (Lorch, Palmgreen, Donohew, Helm, Baer & Dsilva, 1994). Adding to this problem, motives for watching television ordinarily do not include exposure to advertising or PSAs. In this article we examine the extent to which the five-month PSA campaign was successful in overcoming these obstacles and reaching the target audience of high sensation seeking young adults with prevention messages, and how effective these messages were in motivating calls to a hotline established for this study.

SENSATION SEEKING AND TARGETING

Need for sensation (Zuckerman, 1988) has been measured as a personality trait through a scale developed by Zuckerman (1979) and through measures of blood platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) and testosterone levels. The personality scale includes four dimensions: (1) Thrill and adventure seeking: seeking sensation through physically risky activities; (2) Experience seeking: seeking sensation through a non-conforming lifestyle, travel, music, art, drugs, and unconventional friends; (3) Disinhibition: seeking sensation through social stimulation, parties, social drinking and a variety of sex partners; (4) Boredom susceptibility: an aversion to boredom produced by unchanging conditions or persons. Sensation seeking appears to be a powerful etiological factor in drug use, leading to higher levels of using a variety of drugs and earlier use onset. In a study of students in grades 7 through 12 (Donohew, 1988; Donohew et al., 1990), high sensation seekers were twice as likely as low sensation seekers to report use of beer and liquor during the past 30 days and up to seven times as likely to report use of other drugs. Similar findings have been reported among older populations (Zuckerman, Neary & Brustman, 1970). Because high sensation seekers also are attracted to novel, dramatic, and stimulating messages (Donohew et al., 1991), manipulation of message sensation value (i.e., the ability of a message to produce sensory, affective, and physiological responses) could be an unobtrusive way of surmounting the cognitive and attitudinal barriers to prevention messages raised by drug users and at-risk individuals.

PRELIMINARY STUDIES

The study reported here has been preceded by experimental studies and focus group sessions isolating characteristics of messages which appeal to high sensation seekers. In one study testing differential effects of these characteristics in drug abuse prevention messages, behavioral intentions of high sensation seekers to call a hotline were more affected by a high sensation value message (which was more dramatic and stimulating), whereas low sensation seekers were more persuaded by a low sensation value message (Donohew et al., 1991; Palmgreen et al., 1991). Another more naturalistic experiment focused on determinants of attention to prevention-oriented PSAs in different program contexts. High sensation seekers (HSS) paid more attention to high sensation value (HSV) programming (exciting drama or an off-beat sitcom) than to low sensation value (LSV) programming (slow-paced drama or conventional sitcom). As a result, HSS also attended more to PSAs and ads in HSV programming, while low sensation seekers (LSS) paid more attention to PSAs in a low sensation value context (Lorch et al., 1994). The purpose of the campaign was to test whether the procedures and findings of the laboratory research could be implemented effectively in the field.

METHODS

PSA Production

Various PSA concepts were developed by the research team and the producer, each of which focused on the importance of alternatives to drug use for meeting sensation needs. Video boards of these concepts were presented to focus groups of high sensation seeking 18–22 year old males and females. Several anti-drug advertisements from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America also were tested. Ultimately, five PSAs were produced for campaign use. “Common” was the prototypical spot and received the heaviest air play. Featuring heavy metal music and quick action cuts from high sensation activity to activity, this spot included a voice-over that stated, “The one thing all these people have in common? They don’t need drugs.” The message board which followed, used to close all five spots, consisted of bright red copy scrolling across the screen: “For Excitement Without Drugs Call 1-800-925-4444.”

“Wasted” was the spot deemed highest in sensation value and also was used frequently. This spot included metaphors for drug use: “wasted,” “blasted,” “stoned,” or “fried.” Backed by heavy metal music, each of these words appeared on screen followed by footage illustrating the metaphor. “With drugs you can get … Wasted” was followed by footage from a trash dump. “Blasted” was followed by scenes depicting nuclear disaster. “Stoned” was followed by news footage of a South African woman being stoned. “Fried” was followed by news footage of a Vietnamese monk’s self-immolation. Another message board then was shown, “Without drugs you can still get … high.” Following this board, various high sensation value alternatives were shown, and the closing message boards were run. Other PSAs used less frequently were labeled “If,” “Lab Rat,” and “Guidebook.”

All callers to the hotline received a full-color, 20-page guidebook, A Thrillseeker’s Guide to the Bluegrass. This guidebook explained the concept of sensation seeking, its connection to drug use, and listed a wide variety of activities in Lexington/Fayette County and surrounding areas.

PSA Campaign

The investigators and a professional media buyer negotiated with local stations and the cable service to obtain airtime, paid (a total of $61,000) and unpaid, for campaign PSAs. Data from the pre-campaign survey were analyzed to assess television program preferences of high sensation seekers. This information was provided to the media buyer in order to facilitate placement of the campaign PSAs in HSS-preferred programming.

The campaign ran from mid-January through mid-June, 1992. Individual PSAs were aired in two- to three-week flights on a rotating schedule. The number in each flight varied considerably. Over the course of the campaign, 615 purchased spots and 887 free spots were televised. Reach and frequency data are available only for the paid spots. The ads were run in two-week “flights.” Depending on the number of spots aired during a particular flight, reach (proportion of the audience exposed to the message at least once) and frequency (the average number of exposures of an audience member reached) ranged from 85% (reach) and 9.5 (frequency) to 59% and 3.1. Reach and frequency were higher, however, with the addition of the unpaid spots.

Pre-Campaign Survey

For the month before the campaign began, a pre-campaign survey (face-to-face interview) of 16–25 year olds (n = 597) in Fayette County (Lexington, KY) was conducted by the Survey Research Center at the University of Kentucky. Data were gathered on television program preferences, general anti-drug advertisement recall, use of alcohol and nine illicit drugs, drug attitudes, and leisure activity participation. Sensation seeking was measured with the Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale (Form V), minus three drugrelated items.

Within-Campaign Surveys

Four random telephone surveys were conducted at one month intervals during the campaign by the University of Kentucky’s Survey Research Center. For each survey, approximately 100 16–25 year old Fayette County residents were asked to describe any antidrug ads they had seen on TV during the past four weeks. Sensation seeking (with ten items selected from the Zuckerman scale through discriminant analysis of previous data) and demographics also were measured.

Hotline Panel Survey

The hotline staff first determined whether callers were calling for themselves or for someone else (e.g., a friend or relative). They then briefly described the purpose of the campaign and the free activities guidebook, and asked if the caller would like a copy of the guidebook. Other information recorded included what prompted the call, date of birth, race/ethnicity, education, and county of residence. Finally, if callers were eligible (i.e., were calling for themselves and were 18 years of age or older), staffers asked whether they would like to participate in a study of campaign effectiveness.

Study participation involved filling out a mail questionnaire concerning television viewing, sensation seeking, leisure time activities, and attitudes and behavior regarding drug use. Callers were offered $15 for completing the questionnaire. If callers agreed, they were sent the questionnaire, a copy of the guidebook, and a “bonus package” of discount coupons to various organizations listed in the brochure. If callers were ineligible for the study or if they did not agree to participate, they were sent a guidebook and bonus package only. The research design calls for four waves of hotline data collection: baseline (immediately after the call to the hotline), and then six-month, twelve-month and twenty-four-month followups.

Post-Campaign Survey

The post-campaign survey was conducted within the month following the end of the campaign. Interviewers were able to contact 525 (or 88%) of the original 597 respondents. During the interview, which consisted primarily of the questions asked during the pre-campaign survey, respondents were asked to describe any anti-drug PSAs they had seen in the past six months. Then, they were shown each campaign PSA on a portable VCR-monitor, and were asked how certain they were (on a four-point scale) that they had seen that particular PSA. If respondents were “very certain” or “fairly certain” that they had seen the spot, they were asked to estimate the number of times they had seen the spot.

RESULTS

Data on the extent to which the campaign was successful in targeting high sensation seeking individuals are drawn from four sources: (1) characteristics of callers, derived from the call record sheets; (2) exposure to the PSAs during the campaign, as indicated by the four within-campaign surveys; (3) a comparison of the general population of 18–25 year olds in the Lexington market (based on the pre-campaign survey) with callers to the hotline (based on the first wave of the hotline p...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Research to Practice: An Introduction
• Risk and Protective Factors: A Brief Review
• Substance Abuse Prevention Among Elementary School Students
• Reaching At-Risk Populations in a Mass Media Drug Abuse Prevention Campaign: Sensation Seeking as a Targeting Variable
• Alcohol Use and Socialization Characteristics Among Hungarian Adolescents: Path Models
• Immediate Impact of Social Influence-Oriented Substance Abuse Prevention Curricula in Traditional and Continuation High Schools
• Parents’ and Children’s Reports of Parenting Practices and Parent and Child Alcohol Use
• Squashing Theory: A Prediction Approach for Drug Behavior
• Assessing How Adolescents Think About the Morality of Substance Use
• An Approach for High Risk Prevention Research
• Prevention and Culture: A Theoretical Perspective
• Choosing a Paradigm to Guide Prevention Research and Practice
• Prevention Research Recommendations: Scientific Integration for the 90s