Sun, 11/19: 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM EST
Gaylord National
Room: Chesapeake J/K - Convention Center, Ballroom Level
This study examined how message features of behavioral frame, certainty, and target influence responses to vaping prevention messages among adolescents. We conducted a 2 (behavioral frame) by 2 (certainty) by 2 (target) by 3 (risk type) plus control condition between-subjects experiment. Adolescents (N=1,603) were randomly assigned to one of 25 conditions. In each condition, participants viewed a vaping prevention message (or a control message about vape litter) followed by a battery of items. Results showed main effects of behavioral frame such that messages using a regular expression ("Vaping can…") led to higher perceived message effectiveness (PME), higher perceived severity, and greater intentions to seek more information about vaping risks compared to behavioral contingency ("If you vape, it can…"). There were also significant main effects of certainty such that messages using the word "can" led to higher PME, higher perceived susceptibility, higher perceived severity, and greater information seeking intentions compared to "could." No main effect of target ("you" vs. "teens") was observed. Findings provide theoretical and practical implications for designing more effective campaign messages with greater behavior change potential.