Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40829293›Full record

Trial reportAddictive behaviors2025

Warning label messages about the cancer risk associated with alcohol: Effects of causal language.

Jackelyn B Payne, Jacob A Rohde, Carlos O Garrido, Emma Jesch, William M P Klein, David Berrigan, Richard P Moser, Paul K J Han

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

Trial report in Addictive behaviors, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. 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

8 authors.

Jackelyn B PayneCancer Prevention Fellowship Program, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA; Behavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. Electronic address: jackelyn.payne@nih.gov.
Jacob A RohdeCancer Prevention Fellowship Program, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA; Behavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA; Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA. Electronic address: jacob.rohde@uconn.edu.
Carlos O GarridoBehavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA; Division of Integrative Biological and Behavioral Sciences, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, 6707 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 800, Bethesda, MD 20892-5465, USA. Electronic address: carlos.garrido@nih.gov.
Emma JeschCancer Prevention Fellowship Program, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA; Behavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. Electronic address: emma.jesch@nih.gov.
William M P KleinBehavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. Electronic address: kleinwm@mail.nih.gov.
David BerriganBehavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. Electronic address: berrigad@mail.nih.gov.
Richard P MoserBehavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. Electronic address: moserr@mail.nih.gov.
Paul K J HanBehavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. Electronic address: paul.han@nih.gov.

Funding

Intramural NIH HHS Z99 CA999999
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo investigate the effects of causal language in warning messages about alcohol and cancer risk.

methodsIn an online factorial experiment conducted in 2023, 799 US adults were randomly assigned to view one of eight messages employing different combinations of causal verbs (e.g., "causes") and modal verbs (e.g., "may") to describe the alcohol-cancer relationship. Analyses compared the effects of causal language on perceptions of causal certainty, alcohol-related cancer risk, message credibility, message reactance, and alcohol consumption intentions.

resultsCausal language did not affect perceived causal certainty, perceived cancer risk, or alcohol consumption intentions, but decreased perceived message credibility and increased reactance. Modal language decreased perceived causal certainty and cancer risk, increased perceived credibility of messages containing "causes," and decreased reactance to all messages.

conclusionsCausal language in alcohol warning messages has complex, countervailing effects: higher-certainty causal verbs do not increase risk perceptions but increase negative reactance, whereas higher-uncertainty modal verbs decrease risk perceptions but also reactance. These results suggest causal language may pose potential tradeoffs for risk communication efforts, raising the need for caution and more research to understand its effects.

Indexed as

Alcohol DrinkingLanguageNeoplasmsProduct LabelingAdultFemaleHumansIntentionMaleMiddle AgedUnited StatesYoung AdultAlcohol consumptionCancerHealth communicationHealth warning labelsPolicyRisk perceptions

Identifiers

PMID40829293
PMCPMC12478470

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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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.