Author: Keryn E. Pasch, Kelli A. Komro, Cheryl L. Perry, Mary O. Hearst, Kian Farbakhsh
Title: Outdoor Alcohol Advertising near schools: What does it advertise and how is it related to intentions and use of alcohol among young adolescents?
Journal: J Study Alcohol Drugs (2007), 68, 587-596.

AbstractOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Objective: To document and to describe all outdoor alcohol advertisements surrounding schools and to examine s possible association between exposure to alcohol advertising in sixth grade and youth alcohol use, intentions, norms, and attitudes in eighth grade.
Design: longitudinal study
Setting: 63 Chicago (US) school sites
Participants: The study can be separated into two parts. In the first part, all outdoor alcohol advertisements within 1,500 feet of 63 Chicago school sites were during a month documented and coded for content and theme. In the second part 2586 students (of 4137 eligible students) were included in both samples at the baseline and at the 2-year follow-up. Participants included 2,586 sixth-grade students in the school year 2002-2003. The sample was 37% black, 33% Hispanic, and 15% white. Gender was evenly distributed, and the average age was 12.2 at the end of sixth grade.
Methods: All outdoor alcohol advertisements within 1,500 feet of 63 Chicago school sites were documented and coded for content and theme during a period of a month. Longitudinal mixed-effects regression analysis was used to determine the association between number of alcohol advertisements around a school in sixth grade and student alcohol behaviours, intentions, norms, and attitudes 2 years later.
Findings: A total of 931 alcohol advertisements were found within 1,500 feet of the 63 school sites with a range from 0 (n=22) to 109 (n=1). 41 of these ads were categorized as youth-oriented. 50 % of these youth oriented ads used sex appeal as a theme. More than 86% of the advertisements were for beer and were predominantly located on bars and liquor stores. Exposure to alcohol advertising around schools at the end of sixth grade was found to predict alcohol intentions at the end of eighth grade. This finding held true even for those students who were nonusers of alcohol in sixth grade. Although less strong, it is found that besides youth oriented ads, information or brand only ads influences alcohol intentions as well. This is in contrast with findings of Kelly et al. (2002). The finding emphasizes the effect of volume of alcohol marketing.
Conclusions Authors: “Exposure to outdoor alcohol advertising around schools is associated with subsequent youth intentions to use alcohol. The association between exposure to alcohol advertising and youth alcohol-use intentions was found even among sixth-grade nonusers of alcohol, suggesting that even those who have not used alcohol are still influenced by alcohol advertising. These findings suggest that restrictions in alcohol advertising near schools may be warranted.”

Remarks of EUCAM: The importance of this article can be found in the fact that it examines the effect of the content and volume of outdoor alcohol advertising. This combination and the emphasis on outdoor advertising are scarcely used in other studies.
Most advertisements are located on selling points (liquor stores and bars). However, the number of selling points is not included as a confounder in the analyses. It could be that the number of selling points instead of the alcohol advertisements could (partly) explain the alcohol intention and use. A larger number of selling points could make the use of alcohol more acceptable and a norm.

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