Public service announcement perceptions - A quantitative examination of anti-violence messages

Context: In recent years, anti-violence public service announcements (PSAs) have been broadcast on commercial and cable networks. Objective: This study examined if and how teenagers' demographics and backg round variables were related to the perceptions of several anti-violence PS As. Design: This was a pencil-and-paper survey that had teenagers provide infor mation about their demographics and knowledge of, attitudes about, and expe rience with violence. Then, teenagers screened and responded to several PSA s, indicating their levels of interest in, comprehension of, credibility gi ven, and perceived effect for each message. Setting and Participants: In public school settings, data were collected fr om a sample of 1480 urban, suburban, and rural midwestern teenagers. Main Outcome Measures: Interest in, comprehension of, credibility given, an d perceived effect of PSAs. Results: Using bivariate and multivariate analyses, we found significant bu t weak relationships between teenagers' characteristics and perceptions of anti-violence PSAs. Conclusion: This study suggests that audience segmentation be based not onl y on demographics but also on factors specifically related to the presented topic.