Post on 15-Dec-2015
Alcohol in movies4th European Alcohol Policy Conference
Brussels, June 21-22, 2010
Reiner Hanewinkel, Ph.D.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) Cast: Ron Perlman,
Selma Blair, Doug Jones
US-Rating: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and some language Germany: ≥ 12
What happens in Vegas (2008)
Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Cameron Diaz
Rating: PG-13 for some sexual and crude content, and language,including a drug reference Germany: ≥ 6
Match Point (2005)
Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson
Rating: R for some sexuality Germany: ≥ 6
Cast:Tom CruisePenélope CruzCameron DiazKurt RussellTilda Swinton
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Rated R for sexuality and strong language Germany: ≥ 16
Any alcohol use
Beer
Wine
Liquor
One or more
Branded use by actor
Background
Verbal mention of use
83%
64%
67%
71%
52%
30%
41%
9%
Types of alcohol used in movieAlcohol brand appearances
Alcohol use and alcohol brand appearances in 534 contemporary Hollywood movies
Addiction 2008;103:1925-32
Purpose
To investigate the association of movie alcohol use and German adolescent alcohol use
Germany
Schleswig-Holstein
Surveys conducted
42 schools randomly selected
27 schools (64%)agreed to participate
5,581 studentswere surveyed at baseline
Sample description:─ Equally distributed by sex
─ Mean age: 12.8 yearsRange: 11-17 years
─ Alcohol use without parental knowledge: 36.6%
─ Binge drinking : 18.1%
Sample recruitment
Int J Epidemiol 2007;36:1068-77
Generate Survey Movie List
398 Top Movies, 1994-2004
Questionnaire assesses which of the 50 movies the adolescent has ever seen
Survey Adolescents
Randomly selected 50 movies for each survey
Timed alcohol use in movies
Movie Content Analysis
Hours of alcohol use in movies seen
Merge
Exposure Assessment
Beach MethodInt J Epidemiol 2007;36:1068-77
What is shown in German cinemas?
Most popular movies in Germany were produced and distributed by Hollywood Studios
─ 86% of top 25 box office hits in Germany, 1994-2001
─ 75% of top 100 box offce hits in Germany, 2002-2004
80% of all box office hits in Germany are produced and/or distibuted by Hollywood Companies
Int J Epidemiol 2007;36:1068-77
020
040
060
0
Fre
qu
en
cy
0 5 10 15 20
Movie alcohol use seen (hours)
Estimated exposure to alcohol use from 398 popular contemporary movies among German teens
All kids have seen drinking movie stars Median exposure: 3.44 hours
Some kids have seen more than10 hours of alcohol use on screen
Int J Epidemiol 2007;36:1068-77
0.2
.4.6
.8 P
reva
len
ce
0 5 10 15 20Hours of Movie Alcohol Exposure
Alcohol Use Without Parental Knowledge
Binge Drinking
Association between exposure to movie alcohol useand adolescent drinking outcome
Int J Epidemiol 2007;36:1068-77
Limitations of a cross-sectional survey
─ Shows only an association─ Not cause─ Perhaps high risk adolescents are attracted to
movies containing alcohol use
A longitudinal follow-up can address these issues
(1) We were able to complete follow-up surveys in 2,708 of 3,432 (79%) baseline never drinkers one year after the baseline examination.
(2) Some 885 (33%) of baseline never drinkers tried drinking without parental knowledge, some 387 (14%) tried binge drinking during the follow-up period.
Follow-up
Pediatrics 2009;123:989-95
Dose-response between exposure to movie alcohol use at baseline and adolescent drinking initiation at follow-up
0.2
.4.6
.8
Initi
atio
n o
f D
rinki
ng
0 5 10 15 20
Hours of Movie Alcohol Exposure
Drinking Without Parental KnowledgeBinge Drinking
Pediatrics 2009;123:989-95
Adjusted relative risks (ARR) for trying alcohol during observation period
Drinking without parental knowledge
Binge Drinking
ARR (95% CI) ARR (95% CI)
Alcohol use in movies seen:
Quartile 1 1.00 1.00
Quartile 2 1.42 (1.16-1.74) 1.44 (0.96-2.17)
Quartile 3 1.94 (1.65-2.28) 1.95 (1.27-3.00)
Quartile 4 2.00 (1.69-2.37) 2.23 (1.48-3.37)
Adjusted for:SES; age; gender; school performance; rebelliousness/sensation-seeking;parenting style, peer and parent alcohol use
Pediatrics 2009;123:989-95
(1) Almost all German kids are exposed to drinking contained in Hollywood movies, from which many see hours of drinking and a broad number of brands.
(2) Movie alcohol use is associated with drinking without parental knowledge and binge drinking.
(3) The association is shown not only in cross sectional but also longitudinal, i.e., the exposure precedes the drinking.
(4) The association is independent of a number of potential confounding influences.
Conclusions
(1) Hollywood film studios distribute hundreds of American-made movies to a global market.
(2) The alcohol industry probably pays to have brands in these movies
(3) These movies probably influence adolescents in other countries to drink.
(4) Youth alcohol use is a key public health concern.
Implications (I)
(5) European Countries should consider placing youth restrictions on movies with drinking and banning product placement.
(6) Studies on the frequency of alcohol use in European movies and brand appearances are warranted.
Implications (II)
Funding
Content coding of the US movies:National Institutes of Health
Rated PG for mild language and some crude humorGermany: General Audience
Shrek (2001)
Thanks for your attention!