IMPACT OF MASS-MEDIA ON HEALTH COGNITIONS OF PUPILS

Theories about health-related behavior deal with subjective norms and beliefs in the susceptibility to specific diseases as determinants of the link between attitudes and behavior. Health cognitions are seen as influenced by the salience of the targets (see the availability heuri stic: Tversky & Kahneman, 1973). This study analyzed the effects of ma ss media reports on health cognitions of young people. Nine newspaper articles were created, one for each of three substances and the differ ent trends in consumption (''More and more/A lot of/Some ... young peo ple take heroin/drink alcohol/smoke cigarettes''). The articles were r ead by 191 pupils. Results show that the reading preference and the pe rceived importance of the substances were dominated by the themes of t he articles and not by the trends in consumption. The acceptance of th e consumption of illegal drugs increased after the pupils had read art icles about heroin. Further, an overestimation of the base rates of co nsumption was observed, especially in pupils who smoked. Results are d iscussed with regard to the importance of integrating the impact of ma ss media into current models of health-related intentions.