The differential effects of parent-targeted alcohol harm-reduction campaigns with varying executional styles

Introduction: Parental provision of alcohol to children is associated with a range of negative outcomes. Public health campaigns discouraging this practice are required as part of a comprehensive approach to reduce alcohol-related harm among minors, however, limited research has examined the relative effectiveness of different messaging approaches. This study compared the effects of two campaigns with different executional styles on parents' intentions to provide alcohol to minors-one campaign used a fear-based approach and the other adopted a first-person narrative approach.

Methods: The study used a repeated cross-sectional design. An independent samples t-test was used to compare the effects of two campaigns with alternative executional styles on parents' alcohol provision intentions. Two ordinal logistic generalised linear models were used to assess whether intentions effects differed according to parents' demographic and behavioural characteristics.

Results: Both campaigns were effective at motivating parents to abstain from providing alcohol to minors. This outcome was particularly notable among female respondents and those who had never provided alcohol to their children. Older respondents and those who used less alcohol were more likely to intend to change their behaviours as a result of exposure to the fear-based campaign, while the campaign using a narrative approach was more effective with heavier drinkers.

Discussion and conclusions: Overall strong performance of both campaigns combined with varying effectiveness by parent attributes highlights the utility of parent-focused campaigns targeting alcohol provision to minors. To best protect minors, continued investments are needed to develop suites of evidence-based campaigns that resonate with different parent subgroups.