TV episode and epilogue

Last registered on February 22, 2015
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
TV episode and epilogue
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000636
Initial registration date
February 22, 2015

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
February 22, 2015, 2:30 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
CRISTEL RUSSELL
Affiliation
American University - Kogod School
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Dale W. Russell
PI Affiliation
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
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PI Name
Edward McQuarrie
PI Affiliation
Santa Clara University
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PI Name
Joel G. Grube
PI Affiliation
Prevention Research Center
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2012-03-26
End date
2013-09-30
Keywords
Health
Additional Keywords
Media, Alcohol, Social Influence
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Objectives. This study experimentally assessed whether alcohol television storylines impact youth drinking attitudes and intentions and whether corrective epilogues can moderate this impact.

Methods. Participants aged 14-17 completed the online study. Television episodes were professionally produced showing heavy drinking leading to either positive or negative consequences. The episode was shown alone or with an epilogue where a main character discussed the deleterious impacts of excessive drinking. Attitudes toward drinkers and drinking intentions were measured subsequently, along with reactions to the episode and demographic data.

Results. Exposure to the pro-alcohol episode led to more positive attitudes toward drinkers and greater drinking intentions but a corrective video epilogue successfully reduced this detrimental effect. However, including an epilogue after an anti-alcohol episode backfired, resulting in a boomerang effect.

Conclusions. Viewing a single television episode with a pro-alcohol message can lead to more positive attitudes toward drinkers and promote youths’ intentions to consume alcohol. The finding that a brief epilogue reduced the impact of the pro-alcohol storyline suggests easily implemented preventive strategies to counter the adverse impact of substance use portrayals in entertainment programming.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Grube, Joel G. et al. 2015. "TV episode and epilogue." AEA RCT Registry. February 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.636-1.0
Former Citation
Grube, Joel G. et al. 2015. "TV episode and epilogue." AEA RCT Registry. February 22. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/636/history/3647
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Original TV episodes were produced, with different versions of the storyline to manipulate whether the embedded alcohol story was positive or negative. For some of the participants, the episode was followed by a corrective video epilogue telling the teen about the social risks of heavy drinking.
Intervention Start Date
2012-09-03
Intervention End Date
2013-09-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The survey assessed attitudes toward drinkers and drinking intentions. Participants were asked “What do you think about people who drink alcohol?” on a 5-point semantic differential scale: Good - Bad, Unappealing - Appealing, Uncool - Cool, Unattractive - Attractive, Boring - Fun, Dumb – Smart (α = .71). The respondents’ drinking intentions were measured on a three-item scale asking them to indicate “In the next year, how likely it is that you will”: Drink alcohol, Drink several alcoholic drinks in a row, Drink enough to feel drunk (1- not at all likely to 5- very likely).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
These alcohol indicators are commonly used in alcohol research and form a reliable overall indicator of alcohol drinking intent that predicts subsequent drinking behavior.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The participants were randomly assigned to watch an episode presented as a new TV pilot. Each participant viewed either the positive or the negative consequences episode with or without a public health video epilogue, according to the 2 (episode valence) X 2 (no epilogue / epilogue) experimental design, and counterbalancing the gender of the character presenter in the epilogue.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization was computerized and programmed by the online survey software.
Randomization Unit
Randomization was conducted at the individual level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
760 teens (50.4% males) participated in the study.
Sample size: planned number of observations
760 teens (50.4% males) participated in the study.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Sample numbers ranged from 174 to 198 in each condition with no differences in age or gender distribution.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation
IRB Approval Date
2012-03-12
IRB Approval Number
IRB00000630
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials