 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Qingwen Dong, PhD, Department of Communication, University of the Pacific, 3601 Pacific Ave., Stockton, CA 95211, 209 946-3044, qdong@uop.edu
Young adults are facing tremendous challenges in our society. One of these challenges is how an individual survives and succeeds in an environment which risky behaviors are commonly observed among young adults. These risky behaviors include binge drinking, driving over speed limit, doing drugs and having unprotected sex. Studies showed that a large number of college students have engaged in various risky behaviors in order to seek momentary excitements. Two important factors directly shape young adults’ risky behavior development. One is the internal dimension such as emotional intelligence and the other is the external dimension such as mass media. A sample of 389 young adults tests how emotional intelligence and mass media information seeking affect risky behavior development based on social cognitive theory. Emotional intelligence is measured by self-awareness and self-regulation and mass media information seeking refers to using mass media for seeking information. The study developed a strong emotional intelligence measurement. The research results showed that emotional intelligence has a significant impact on preventing risky behaviors among young adults. EQ showed a much stronger effect on reducing risky behavior when compared with other variables such as self-esteem, peer communication, family communication and some demographic variables. The study also showed mass media information seeking could help people reduce the likelihood of developing risky behaviors. One interpretation of this finding is that negative consequences of risky behaviors are often discussed punishment over mass media information presentation. Viewers socially learn from what they watched over news media channels.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.