Viewing and Evaluation of a Televised Drug Education Program by Students Previously or Concurrently Exposed to School-based Substance Abuse Prevention Programming

Document Type

Article

Department

Community and Global Health (CGU)

Publication Date

12-1987

Disciplines

Broadcast and Video Studies | Health Communication | Mental and Social Health | Substance Abuse and Addiction

Abstract

We present data collected on the viewing of the Don't Be A Dope television show, which was shown on KNBC during April of 1983. The airing of this program afforded us the opportunity to investigate the effects of involvement in previous or concurrent school-based drug abuse prevention programming on viewing and evaluations made of the current anti-drug-abuse TV program. This program consisted of several days of promotional spots followed by five program segments presented during the early evening news and hosted by Daniel J.Travanti, star of Hill Street Blues. Data were collected from 1253 teenagers who had previously participated in a school-based, media-enhanced smoking prevention program, 1629 teenagers who had been in the control condition of that study and 1232 teenagers who were concurrently participating in a school-based drug abuse prevention program. The data consisted of self-reports of viewing frequency, interest, learning, believing and helpfulness of the program, and reports of parental involvement while viewing the program. Results indicated that: (i) a concurrent, but not past, school-based program affected viewing of the anti-drug-abuse TV show; (ii) the more nights the show was seen, the greater was the reported interest, learning, believing and helpfulness to not use drugs; and (iii) adolescents who watched this show with their parents reported relatively greater interest, learning, believing and helpfulness of the show.

Rights Information

© 1987 IRL Press Limited

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