Development of the UNC Perceived Message Effectiveness Scale for Youth

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Communication Science
• Psychology

Background:

• Youth tobacco use remains a significant public health concern.
• Media campaigns are crucial for preventing adolescent tobacco and nicotine product uptake.
• Evaluating the potential impact of campaign messages is essential for effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a theory-based Perceived Message Effectiveness (PME) Scale for youth tobacco prevention messages.
• To assess the reliability and validity of the PME Scale in a diverse adolescent sample.
• To provide a tool for vetting messages in youth tobacco prevention campaigns.

Main Methods:

• A national sample of 623 US adolescents (13-17 years) participated in an online experiment.
• Adolescents viewed ads from FDA's 'The Real Cost' campaign and control videos.
• Perceived Message Effectiveness (PME) was assessed using candidate items, with confirmatory factor analysis and information curves used for scale selection.

Main Results:

• A brief, three-item PME Scale demonstrated high reliability (α=0.95) and validity across diverse adolescent groups.
• Tobacco prevention ads ('The Real Cost') showed higher PME than control videos (p<0.05).
• Higher PME scores correlated with increased attention, fear, elaboration, and negative attitudes toward smoking and vaping, and lower susceptibility.

Conclusions:

• The University of North Carolina PME Scale for Youth is a reliable and valid measure for assessing potential ad effectiveness.
• Utilizing PME scales during message development can enhance the impact of youth tobacco prevention campaigns.
• A single-item PME measure showed comparable performance to the three-item version, offering a concise option.