Lead author Amy Bleakley, Ph.D., Michael Hennessy, Ph.D., both Senior Research Analysts, Martin Fishbein, Ph.D., the former director of the Health Communication program at APPC, and Amy Jordan, Ph.D., director of the Media and the Developing Child program, co-authored a paper – "Using the Integrative Model to Explain How Exposure to Sexual Media Content Influences
Health
Participating in Online Web Discussions Associated With Rise in Suicidal Risk in Young People, APPC Study Finds
A 24-year-old told readers of Reddit (www.reddit.com/r/suicidewatch) of his intention to end his life, a forecast that proved accurate (see http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/08/31/reddit-suicide-how-the-internet-can-help-and-hurt.html). A log of the comments posted to him between the time of his announcement and his death revealed that although many offered help, some openly encouraged him to go through with the act.
Student Drug Testing Only Shows Effects Among Girls in High Schools With Good Social Climates; Regardless of Climate, No Deterrent Effect for Boys, APPC Study Finds
Research conducted with over 940 high school students in two nationally representative surveys finds that male students in high schools that conduct student drug testing report no less recent use of alcohol, marijuana, or cigarettes than male students in schools without drug testing. Although there was evidence of effectiveness for female students, this only occurred
Popular PG-13 Movies Increasingly Portray Suicidal Behavior; No Difference in Highly Explicit Suicide Between R- AND PG-13-Rated Films
Annenberg Public Policy Center research analyzing 855 top box- office films from 1950 to 2006 shows that the portrayal of explicit and graphic suicide has tripled over that time. It also found no difference in the most explicit portrayals in films rated PG-13 versus those rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
APPC Adolescent Health Communication Scholars Published in Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology
APPC Senior Research Analyst Michael Hennessy, Ph.D., and Adolescent Communication Institute Director Dan Romer, Ph.D., were among the authors of a paper, “Multiple Method Contraception Use Among African American Adolescents in Four US Cities,” published in the journal Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology (2011). Their research is part of a project designed to test
Heavy Media Use, Whether Old or New, Associated with Poorer Mental Health in U.S. Young People
Results released today from the National Annenberg Survey of Youth (NASY) indicate that although concerns about excessive Internet use may be justified, heavy use of television may be an even larger concern. In one of the most extensive national surveys of media habits over a two-year period, six different types of media use were identified
APPC Health Communication Scholars Published in The Journal of Sex Research
Amy Bleakley, Ph.D., research analysis manager at the Annenberg Public Policy Center, was lead author of a paper, “A Model of Adolescents’ Seeking of Sexual Content in Their Media Choices,” published in The Journal of Sex Research (Volume 48, Issue 4). Dr. Bleakley’s co-authors were APPC scholars Michael Hennessy, Ph.D., and Martin Fishbein, Ph.D. Article abstract: This article reports on