TY - JOUR
T1 - Reducing television influences on U.S. adolescents who are high reactance
AU - Antonia Russell, Cristel
AU - Buhrau, Denise
AU - Hamby, Anne
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Watching a lot of television (TV), where alcohol consumption is depicted frequently and mostly positively, can enhance teens’ drinking intentions. This influence is particularly problematic among high-reactance teens (that is, those with a predisposition to resist adult control). This study documents one strategy parents can use to counteract TV influences: parental presence during the TV viewing experience (co-viewing). Survey data were collected from a nationally representative sample of parents and their children aged 13–17 (N = 396). Parents reported how they monitored their children’s TV consumption, and adolescents completed a survey in which they reported the amount of TV they watch, completed a trait reactance scale and indicated their views and intentions regarding drinking. Results revealed that the influence of TV viewing on adolescents’ drinking intentions was lower for teens high in trait reactance who grew up with parents who co-view television with them. This did not occur when parents adopted instructive or restrictive communication strategies. The parental monitoring strategy of co-viewing thus emerges as a promising protective approach for a population that has traditionally been considered vulnerable (i.e., high reactance teens).
AB - Watching a lot of television (TV), where alcohol consumption is depicted frequently and mostly positively, can enhance teens’ drinking intentions. This influence is particularly problematic among high-reactance teens (that is, those with a predisposition to resist adult control). This study documents one strategy parents can use to counteract TV influences: parental presence during the TV viewing experience (co-viewing). Survey data were collected from a nationally representative sample of parents and their children aged 13–17 (N = 396). Parents reported how they monitored their children’s TV consumption, and adolescents completed a survey in which they reported the amount of TV they watch, completed a trait reactance scale and indicated their views and intentions regarding drinking. Results revealed that the influence of TV viewing on adolescents’ drinking intentions was lower for teens high in trait reactance who grew up with parents who co-view television with them. This did not occur when parents adopted instructive or restrictive communication strategies. The parental monitoring strategy of co-viewing thus emerges as a promising protective approach for a population that has traditionally been considered vulnerable (i.e., high reactance teens).
KW - adolescence
KW - alcohol
KW - media monitoring
KW - Parenting
KW - personality traits
KW - reactance
KW - television
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077363628&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/17482798.2019.1706184
DO - 10.1080/17482798.2019.1706184
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85077363628
SN - 1748-2798
VL - 15
SP - 153
EP - 164
JO - Journal of Children and Media
JF - Journal of Children and Media
IS - 2
ER -