The role movies play in alcohol consumption by youths

Abstract

Alcohol use and misuse among young people continue to be a major public health concern, despite decades of initiatives aimed at educating young people about the hazards of alcohol. Yet where do young people learn about alcohol use? How do they form attitudes about the effects and risks of drinking? Increasing evidence suggests that young people learn not only from real people (e.g. peers and parents) in their everyday lives but also from characters whose lives they witness through the media. In fact, the mass media have been recognised as significant sources of information about substance use that can influence young people's beliefs and expectations (Bahk, 2001; Sargent et al, 2002).

Care pathways for young people who misuse substances: using the evidence to design services

“…As the papers from one source show, misuse of alcohol by young people has become a recurrent theme in the general and professional media and the political agendas of many different countries' governments [16][17][18][19].…”