A media campaign was built on the common ground between those favoring total
sexual abstinence outside marriage and those favoring abstinence plus
a situation-based safe sex public health message. The media campaign was
constructed to encourage parents to talk to their young adolescent children
(11 to 15 years old) about the link between alcohol and sexual activity.
The media included television, radio, and newspaper advertisements that
emphasized the pressures experienced by young adolescents and their need
to have their parent(s) be "There for me" now. Ads included a toll-free
telephone number with the offer of a "Toolkit" of printed materials to
help parents talk with their children. In Year 1, two communities were
exposed to the ads. Formative research included focus groups conducted
to identify current beliefs and barriers to parent-child conversation
on this subject and pretesting of message concepts in a second round of
focus groups. A pre-campaign random telephone survey was conducted to
establish a baseline for existing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.
Results:
A random telephone
survey conducted after the campaign showed parents in the intervention
communities were aware of the ads and in comparison to the pre-campaign
baseline survey, a statistically significant increased number of parents
had discussed the link between alcohol and sexual activity with their
children. Calls to the toll-free number for toolkits also exceeded campaign
objectives. Based on the results of the Year 1 pilot study, the campaign
was extended statewide in Year 2.
A media campaign was built on the common ground between those favoring total
sexual abstinence outside marriage and those favoring abstinence plus
a situation-based safe sex public health message. The media campaign was
constructed to encourage parents to talk to their young adolescent children
(11 to 15 years old) about the link between alcohol and sexual activity.
The media included television, radio, and newspaper advertisements that
emphasized the pressures experienced by young adolescents and their need
to have their parent(s) be "There for me" now. Ads included a toll-free
telephone number with the offer of a "Toolkit" of printed materials to
help parents talk with their children. In Year 1, two communities were
exposed to the ads. Formative research included focus groups conducted
to identify current beliefs and barriers to parent-child conversation
on this subject and pretesting of message concepts in a second round of
focus groups. A pre-campaign random telephone survey was conducted to
establish a baseline for existing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.
