141st APHA Annual Meeting

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281580
Frame analysis of alcohol messaging in u.s. air force base newspapers

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Jacqueline Pflieger, Ph.D. , Public Health and Survey Research Division, ICF International, Fairfax, VA
Ashley Schaad, M.A. , Public Health and Survey Research Division, ICF International, Fairfax, VA
Samuel Golenbock, B.A. , Public Health and Survey Research Division, ICF International, Fairfax, VA
Alisha Creel, Ph.D. , Public Health and Survey Research Division, ICF International, Fairfax, VA
Heavy alcohol use among young, enlisted military personnel is of great concern, with junior enlisted personnel representing the largest proportion of service members experiencing alcohol-related consequences and risk behaviors. Since 2006, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has awarded discretionary grants to states as part of the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) initiative to design and implement a set of interventions using an environmental strategies approach to reduce drinking and associated alcohol-related misconducts among active duty Air Force members. At the end of 2009, EUDL awarded grants to Wyoming, which partnered with F. E. Warren AFB, and Missouri, which partnered with Whiteman AFB. The current study analyzed weekly base newspapers (312 total issues) from F.E. Warren and Whiteman in 2010 (pre-intervention), 2011 (intervention), and 2012 (post-intervention) to gauge whether the EUDL intervention had an impact on media messaging frames related to alcohol use. We coded approximately 600 articles that mentioned alcohol across 15 variables (e.g., section of paper, quotation sources, co-occurrence with other health issues). Across sites, the most common messaging frames were related to negative consequences of alcohol use, such as drunk driving and underage drinking violations. Alcohol was most often mentioned as a secondary focus of articles compared to other health risk behaviors, such as smoking and general health. The number of articles on alcohol increased over time from pre- to post-intervention. Our analyses compare and contrast alcohol frames across intervention sites, and we will discuss public health implications of media frames on alcohol use.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Identify environmental strategies for reducing underage drinking. Describe common message frames in news coverage of alcohol. Analyze news media for public health message framing.

Keywords: Alcohol Use, Media

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have over 10 years of experience researching alcohol use and associated risk behaviors with adolescents and young adults, and I recently completed a two-year postdoctoral training fellowship in substance abuse prevention research, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.