Eye-Tracking and Adolescent Interest in Alcohol Responsibility Messages: The Message Matters

Through the use of eye-tracking technology, this study explores the efficacy of current alcohol responsibility messages viewed by adolescents and proposes the development of new alcohol warning message design.

An adolescent sample (N = 121; 72 males) was shown 14 advertisements (4 alcohol, 10 non-alcohol) in randomized order featuring messages modified by type size, type contrast, and message content (a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design).

Results suggested that modifying message content to include direct language and a consequence enhances recall and attention to alcohol responsibility messages among adolescents. No significant differences in attentional outcomes were observed for messages that included variances in type size or type contrast.

Overall, to increase attention to and recall of alcohol responsibility messages, the greatest efficacy lies in varying the message itself, irrespective of size or contrast.