Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27862713›Full record

Trial reportBritish journal of health psychology2017

Impact of alcohol-promoting and alcohol-warning advertisements on alcohol consumption, affect, and implicit cognition in heavy-drinking young adults: A laboratory-based randomized controlled trial.

Kaidy Stautz, Daniel Frings, Ian P Albery, Antony C Moss, Theresa M Marteau

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in British journal of health psychology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Exposure to Digital Alcohol Marketing and Alcohol Use: A Systematic Review.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs. Supplement · 2020
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Impact of lower strength alcohol labeling on consumption: A randomized controlled trial.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2018
    Trial
  4. Review
  5. Recent policy recommendations won't protect young people from alcohol-related content on social media: what needs to change?Australasian psychiatry : bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists · 2025
    Article
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  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
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  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Public health policies and alcohol-related liver disease.JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology · 2019
    Review
  18. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Kaidy StautzBehaviour and Health Research Unit, University of Cambridge, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9279-7042
Daniel FringsDepartment of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, UK.
Ian P AlberyDepartment of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, UK.
Antony C MossDepartment of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, London South Bank University, UK.
Theresa M MarteauBehaviour and Health Research Unit, University of Cambridge, UK.

Funding

Medical Research Council G0400634Medical Research Council G0500274
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThere is sparse evidence regarding the effect of alcohol-advertising exposure on alcohol consumption among heavy drinkers. This study aimed to assess the immediate effects of alcohol-promoting and alcohol-warning video advertising on objective alcohol consumption in heavy-drinking young adults, and to examine underlying processes.

designBetween-participants randomized controlled trial with three conditions.

methodsTwo hundred and four young adults (aged 18-25) who self-reported as heavy drinkers were randomized to view one of three sets of 10 video advertisements that included either (1) alcohol-promoting, (2) alcohol-warning, or (3) non-alcohol advertisements. The primary outcome was the proportion of alcoholic beverages consumed in a sham taste test. Affective responses to advertisements, implicit alcohol approach bias, and alcohol attentional bias were assessed as secondary outcomes and possible mediators. Typical alcohol consumption, Internet use, and television use were measured as covariates.

resultsThere was no main effect of condition on alcohol consumption. Participants exposed to alcohol-promoting advertisements showed increased positive affect and an increased approach/reduced avoidance bias towards alcohol relative to those exposed to non-alcohol advertisements. There was an indirect effect of exposure to alcohol-warning advertisements on reduced alcohol consumption via negative affect experienced in response to these advertisements.

conclusionsRestricting alcohol-promoting advertising could remove a potential influence on positive alcohol-related emotions and cognitions among heavy-drinking young adults. Producing alcohol-warning advertising that generates negative emotion may be an effective strategy to reduce alcohol consumption. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Exposure to alcohol advertising has immediate and distal effects on alcohol consumption. There is some evidence that effects may be larger in heavy drinkers. Alcohol-warning advertising has been found to have mixed effects on alcohol-related cognitions. What does this study add? Among heavy-drinking young adults: Alcohol advertising does not appear to have an immediate impact on alcohol consumption. Alcohol advertising generates positive affect and increases alcohol approach bias. Alcohol-warning advertising that generates displeasure reduces alcohol consumption.

Indexed as

Alcohol DrinkingAlcoholic BeveragesAlcoholismAdolescentAdultAdvertisingFemaleHumansMaleYoung Adultalcohol advertisingalcohol marketingalcohol warningsheavy drinkersimplicit cognitionrandomized controlled trialvideoyoung adults

Identifiers

PMID27862713
PMCPMC5245110

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.