Adolescent Exposure to Alcohol Advertising in Magazines: An Evaluation of Advertising Placement in Relation to Underage Youth Readership
Received 18 November 2008; accepted 19 March 2009. published online 19 May 2009.
Abstract
Purpose
To investigate whether alcoholic beverages popular among underage youths are more likely than those less popular among these youths to be advertised in magazines with high underage youth readerships.
Methods
We compared the alcohol advertisement placement in 118 magazines during the period 2002 to 2006 for alcoholic beverages popular among youths to that of alcoholic beverages less likely to be consumed by youths. Using a random effects probit model, we examined the relationship between a magazine's youth (ages 12–20) readership and the probability of youth or nonyouth alcoholic beverage types being advertised in a magazine, controlling for young adult (ages 21–34) readership, cost of advertising, and other factors.
Results
Youth alcoholic beverage types were significantly more likely to be advertised in magazines with higher youth readership. Holding all other variables constant, the ratio of the probability of a youth alcoholic beverage type being advertised to that of a nonyouth alcoholic beverage type being advertised in a given magazine increased from 1.5 to 4.6 as youth readership increased from 0% to 40%. In magazines with the highest levels of youth readership, youth alcoholic beverage types were more than four times more likely to be advertised than nonyouth alcoholic beverage types.
Conclusions
Alcoholic beverages popular among underage youths are more likely than those less popular among youths to be advertised in magazines with high youth readerships.
Address correspondence to: Michael Siegel, M.D., M.P.H., Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, Boston University School of Public Health, 801 Massachusetts Avenue, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02118.
ABSTRACT