2015, García-Retamero y Cokely

Simple But Powerful Health Messages for Increasing Condom Use in Young Adults Rocio Garcia-Retamero Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada; and Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition Edward T. Cokely Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences, Michigan Technological University; and Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition In a lar ge lon git udi nal stu dy inv olv ing you ng adu lts , we conducted an eight- hou r STD educational intervention and examined the impact of the intervention on the efficacy of a message for promoting condom use. The message was framed in positive or negative terms and was presented visually or in numbers (percentages or frequencies). Results indicated that the numerical positive-framed message increased condom use among young adults who did not receive the intervention, whereas the numerical negative-framed message did not. Attitudes toward condom use along with changes in intentions to use condoms mediated this framing effect. In contrast, the positive-framed and negative-framed messages were equally and highly effective for promoting condom use when the messages were presented visually or when young adults received the STD educa tiona l inter venti on befor e readi ng the messa ge, sugge stin g that the simple brochures featuring visual aids were as effective in changing attitudes and behavioral intentions as the extensive intervention. These findings add to a growing body of evidence detailing the mechanisms that allow well-constructed visual aids to be among the most effective, transparent, memorable, and ethically desirable means of risk communication. Clinical and public health implications are discussed. In the past decades, rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including exposure to the human immunodefi- cie ncy vir us (HIV), hav e increa sed sha rpl y in you ng adu lts (Ce nte rs for Dis eas e Con tro l and Pre ven tio n [CDC], 2012) . One respons e to these incre asing rates has been an emphasis on education. Effective interven- tions for reducing STDs focused on changing attitudes about condo m use and skill development (e.g., trai ning in assertive communication), in addition to providing information about STDs (Kirby, 2008; Kirby & Laris, 2009; Kirby, Laris, & Rolleri, 2007; see also Bruine de Bruin, Downs, Fischhoff, & Palmgren, 2007). The first aim of the current research was investigating whether an exten sive educat ional risk awareness inter vention about STDs boo sts the efficac y of hea lth mes sages promoting condom use. We also aimed at assessing the effect of the conten t and str uct ure of suc h mes sag es and the psychological mechanisms mediating their effect. The target of our intervention was a large sample of sexually active young adults—the age group most at risk for infection with STDs (CDC, 2012). Framed messages are of ten us ed for pr omot ing prevention of STDs (for reviews, see Devos-Comby & Salovey, 2002; Garcia-Retamero & Cokely, 2012). To ill ust rat e, a mes sage promoting con dom use can be framed in terms of its success rate (e.g., there is a 95% chance that condoms prevent exposure to the virus that causes acqui red immu nodefi cienc y syndr ome [AIDS]) or its failure rate (e.g., there is a 5% chance that condoms do not prevent exposure to the virus that causes AIDS). Linville, Fischer, and Fischhoff (1993) investigated the impact of positive-framed and negative-framed messages about condom effectiveness on young adults’ intentions to use condoms. When condoms were de scri be d as 95% effective in preventing AIDS (the positive-framed message), young adults reported stronger intentions to use them than when they were described as having a 5% failure rate (the negative-framed message). Although the authors did not include a report of actual safer-sex This research is part of the projects ‘‘How to Improve Understand- ing of Risks About Health (PSI2008-02019),’’ funded by the Ministerio de Cien cia e Inno vaci o ´ n (Spain), and ‘‘Helping Doctors and Their Patients Make Decisions About Health (PSI2011-22954),’’ funded by the Ministerio de Economı á y Competitividad (Spain). Correspondence should be addressed to Rocio Garcia-Retamero, Department of Experimental Psychology, Universidad de Granada, Campus Universitario de Cartuja s =n, 18071 Granada, Spain. E-mail: [email protected] JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH, 52(1), 30–42, 2015 Copyright # The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality ISSN: 0022-4499 print =1559-8519 online DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2013.806647

2015, García-Retamero y Cokely

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