Effects of Media Frame and Onset Controllability on Support for Postpartum Depression Policy

This study examined the processes through which media frames and onset controllability, independently or jointly, influence support for policies to help postpartum depression patients. A 2 (Frame: episodic vs. thematic) x 2 (Onset controllability: controllable vs. uncontrollable) experiment (N = 306) found that a thematic frame (vs. episodic) exerted a stronger impact on policy support, and such effect was serially mediated by attributions of individual/societal responsibility and empathy toward women suffering from postpartum depression. However, the relative efficacy of a thematic frame (vs. episodic) at increasing policy support depended on perceived controllability of the cause for postpartum depression; a thematic frame induced significantly greater policy support than an episodic frame when the cause was perceived to be controllable, but not when the cause was perceived to be uncontrollable. This study contributes to the literature on media framing by collectively addressing cognitive and affective processes in forming policy attitudes and identifying onset controllability as a potential boundary condition for the framing effects.