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Biomedical subjects

S Casswell

Publications and source records attributed to S Casswell.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

The extent and nature of televised food advertising to New Zealand children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: There has been international concern over the balance of television advertising for healthy and less-healthy foods to which children and adolescents are exposed. This study examined the extent to which 9-17 year old New Zealanders were exposed to advertising for different food groups over a year and compared New Zealand rates of advertising with a 13-country study. METHOD: 'People meter' data collected over three months--May and September 1995 and February 1996--and food advertising from a sample week of television during hours when children were likely to be watching were also examined. Comparison was made with a similar 1989 South Australian study and an international study covering 13 countries. RESULTS: Both the exposure estimated for a year and the opportunities for exposure during the sample week were highest for sweet snacks, drinks, fast food/takeaways and breakfast cereals. There were very low levels for fruit, vegetables, and meat/fish/eggs. Water was not advertised in any sample month. Comparisons with the 13-country study showed New Zealand had the third-highest rate of food advertising, the highest rate of confectionery and drinks advertising, and the second-highest rate of restaurant advertising which included fast food restaurants. CONCLUSION: Current patterns of food advertising pose a conflict of interest between public health and commercial interests. Regulation of food advertising may be needed to address this in order to improve future health.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Responses to televised alcohol advertisements associated with drinking behaviour of 10-17-year-olds.

AIMS: To examine the nature of the relationships between 10-17-year-old New Zealanders' responses to alcohol advertisements and their drinking behaviour and future drinking expectations, with consideration also being given to the role of positive and negative beliefs about drinking. DESIGN: Survey involving 500 face-to-face interviews, with selection based on random cluster sampling. SETTING: In respondents' homes in New Zealand's three largest urban areas. PARTICIPANTS: Ten-17-year-old New Zealanders. MEASUREMENTS: Response to specific alcohol advertisements was measured by recalled exposure (how often they recalled having seen the advertisements) and liking (a measure of positive response). FINDINGS: An exploratory structural equation model provided tentative support for the theory-based hypothesis that positive responses to beer advertisements increased the frequency of current drinking and expected future drinking, among this age group. There was no evidence for the hypothesized reciprocal effects; the frequency of drinking (including non-drinking) did not significantly affect the respondent's liking of beer advertisements. There was also no support for a hypothesis that linking of the beer advertisements was a product of a general liking for alcohol. Many of the young people themselves felt that alcohol advertising encouraged teenagers to drink. This was especially the case among 10-13-year-old males, who were the most likely to accept the portrayals in alcohol advertising as realistic. CONCLUSIONS: Although there are limitations on the confidence with which conclusions can be drawn, the findings are consistent with qualitative and quantitative research and different theoretical perspectives on advertising processes which suggest alcohol advertising is likely to have some influence on young people.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Positive responses to televised beer advertisements associated with drinking and problems reported by 18 to 29-year-olds.

AIMS: To examine the nature of the relationships between responses to alcohol advertisements and drinking behaviour and related problems. To examine the role of positive and negative beliefs about drinking as intervening variables. DESIGN: Survey utilizing a CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) system, involving interviews with 1012 randomly selected respondents. SETTING: Respondents were randomly selected from throughout New Zealand. PARTICIPANTS: Eighteen to twenty-nine-year-old New Zealanders. MEASUREMENTS: Response to specific alcohol advertisements was measured by recalled exposure (how often they recalled having seen the advertisements) and liking (a measure of positive response). FINDINGS: An exploratory non-recursive structural equation model, based on 791 drinkers provided tentative support for the hypothesis that positive responses to televised beer advertisements (as measured by liking) contributed to the quantity of alcohol consumed on drinking occasions, which in turn contributed to the level of alcohol-related problems. The model, which provided a good fit to the data, was consistent with the hypothesis that liking of beer advertisements had both a direct influence on quantities of alcohol consumed and an indirect influence, via its influence on positive beliefs. These effects were present after controlling for reciprocal effects, none of which were significant. The data did not support the hypothesis that the quantities of alcohol consumed would influence the respondent's liking of beer advertisements. Recalled exposure was not a significant influence on the quantities consumed. CONCLUSIONS: The results are consistent with a number of theoretical perspectives and with a growing body of research that are suggestive of alcohol advertising having some influence on the consumption of younger people.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Impact of liking for advertising and brand allegiance on drinking and alcohol-related aggression: a longitudinal study.

AIMS: To test a hypothesized model of the effect of televised alcohol advertising and allegiance to specific brands of beer on subsequent beer consumption and self-reports of aggressive behaviour linked with drinking. DESIGN: Structural equation modelling was used to assess the fit between data collected as part of a longitudinal study of young people's health and development and a hypothesized model based on theoretical perspectives and previous research. SETTING: A birth cohort has been assessed every few years, most of them in their home city of Dunedin, New Zealand. The questions about alcohol are asked as part of the day-long assessment. PARTICIPANTS: Members of a longitudinal survey cohort at ages 18 and 21 years. Data from 630 beer drinking participants were analysed in this study. MEASUREMENTS: Responses to questions about beer consumption, liking for advertising, favourite brand of beer and self-reports of alcohol-related aggressive behaviour. FINDINGS: Our hypothesized model assumed a positive impact of liking of alcohol advertising and brand allegiance at age 18 on the volume of beer consumed at age 21 and self-reports of alcohol-related aggressive behaviour. This was found to be a good fit to the data from the longitudinal study. CONCLUSION: This measurable impact of alcohol advertising occurred during a time of decline in aggregate alcohol in New Zealand. While this effect was not large enough to halt the decline in aggregate alcohol consumption it does indicate a measurable, specific impact of broadcast alcohol advertising on alcohol consumption and related behaviour which is of relevance for public health policy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Population level policies on alcohol: are they still appropriate given that "alcohol is good for the heart'?

The research finding that a reduced risk of coronary heart disease is associated with alcohol use has been widely disseminated. This paper addresses the significance of this research finding for decisions about what kind of alcohol harm reduction policies it is appropriate to implement. The public policies of greatest concern to the vested interest groups are population-based policies such as taxation and restrictions on availability. Other public policies which impact on the drinkers' environment are minimum drinking age laws, drink drive deterrence, prevention of intoxication in public drinking places and restrictions on advertising. A review of the effectiveness of the available strategies provided strong support for environmentally focused approaches rather than education targeting high-risk drinkers. Many of these environmental strategies seem unlikely to have a significant direct effect of reducing "heart healthy' drinking by older people. Furthermore, the impact of alcohol on premature mortality among the older sectors of the population has to be weighed against any possible impact on younger drinkers resulting in loss of or disability in many years of life. Given the relative effectiveness of environmental strategies for reducing harm and the likely low level of impact of these strategies on the heart healthy drinking of older people it is concluded that the evidence of reduced risk of coronary heart disease does not preclude their implementation.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1997

Access to alcohol from licensed premises during adolescence: a longitudinal study.

Control of young people's access to alcohol via licensed premises has been shown to be an effective alcohol harm reduction strategy in the United States. In a longitudinal study of young New Zealanders their access to alcohol at the ages of 15 and 18 years was shown to be significantly predictive of the quantities of alcohol they consumed during a drinking occasion both then and in subsequent years. In turn the quantities of alcohol consumed were predictive of the respondents' experience of intoxication related adverse consequences. The impact of access via licensed premises on drinking and related problems was greater in this cohort of young people than the impact of peer or parental influences.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

The economic costs of alcohol-related absenteeism and reduced productivity among the working population of New Zealand.

Lost productivity accounts for a significant proportion of the total cost of alcohol. This study quantifies the costs associated with alcohol consumption using survey data collected from four alcohol surveys conducted in Auckland between November 1990 to May 1992. The total sample size was 4662, of which 2638 were drinkers in paid employment. A computer-assisted telephone interviewing system was used to interview a random sample that closely matched the Auckland population. Respondents gave information about their typical alcohol consumption and frequency of absences from paid employment which were a result of their drinking. They also gave a report of the number of times in the past 12 months when they felt their work had been impaired as a result of their drinking. The cost of absenteeism was recorded as the number of times a respondent reported time away from work multiplied by gross income. Estimates of reduced work efficiency were derived from US figures, which estimated a 25% reduction in work performance among heavy alcohol users; 3.7% of the sample reported alcohol-related absences and 12% reported reduced efficiency days. There was a significant difference in both the number and cost of absentee and reduced efficiency days reported between the top 10% and the bottom 10% drinkers. A conservative estimate of alcohol-related lost productivity among the working population of New Zealand (with a population of 3.4 million and a per capita absolute alcohol consumption of 9.7 litres) was found to be $57 million per year.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1994

Comparison of six alcohol consumption measures from survey data.

Data were collected from a national sample of 1680 New Zealanders that allowed comparison of six different alcohol consumption measures. A measure based on reports of typical frequency and the amount typically consumed in 15 specified drinking locations produced the highest estimate of consumption. This measure and three others showed a particularly high degree of correlation, these being: a measure based on typical frequency and typical occasion amount; a variation of the Finnish period estimate; and a New Zealand variation of the period estimate that incorporated a typical frequency measure. The four measures just described, together with a last 7 days measure, showed generally consistent results when data were examined at the level of the total population and age, gender and socio-economic sub-groups. A measure based on the last two drinking occasions showed the least consistency with the other measures. The high degree of consistency found in the present study is similar to that found in a previous Finnish study and gives confidence that different ways of obtaining information about alcohol consumption, including relatively quick methods, can lead to similar conclusions about the comparative drinking of population sub-groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Alcohol in the mass media and drinking by adolescents: a longitudinal study.

Data from a longitudinal study carried out in Dunedin, New Zealand, were used to investigate associations between alcohol consumption at age 18 years and alcohol-related mass media communications recalled at ages 13 and 15 years. The respondents' recall of alcohol-related mass media material were categorized as: commercial alcohol advertising, alcohol moderation messages or the portrayal of alcohol in entertainment. An additional media variable was the number of hours spent watching television. Non-media variables, such as peer approval of drinking, living situation and occupation (all at age 18 years) were also included in the analyses. The period between the interviews at ages 13 and 15 years saw an increase in the broadcast of commercial alcohol advertisements on television in New Zealand and this was reflected in an increase in the proportion of the mass media material recalled which was categorized as commercial advertising. At age 15 years television advertising, mostly for beer companies, was the predominant material recalled. No relationships were found between the commercial advertising and wine and spirits consumption, among either men or women, but young women who had watched more hours of television drank more wine/spirits. Among women there were two unexpected negative relationships between recall of alcohol in the media at age 13 years and beer consumption. However, among men there was a consistent positive relationship such that those who had recalled more alcohol advertisements at age 15 years drank larger quantities of beer at age 18 years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

The effect of parents' alcohol problems on children's behaviour as reported by parents and by teachers.

Associations between parents' alcohol problems when children were aged 9 and children's behaviour at ages 9 and 13 as reported by parents and teachers were investigated. The sample consisted of participants in a multidisciplinary longitudinal study, data were collected by face-to-face interview. When compared to children with no or mild parental alcohol problems, children classified as having severe parental alcohol problems were more likely to display high levels of problem behaviour at age 9 as reported by teachers and at age 13 as reported by parents. Poorer family relationships, lower verbal and reading proficiency and being male were also associated with high levels of behaviour problems.

Achievement↗
PubMed1993

Public discourse on the benefits of moderation: implications for alcohol policy development.

There is increasingly widespread acceptance of a protective effect of alcohol against coronary heart disease and a consequent delay of mortality among the elderly. This information has been widely disseminated in the popular media and by industry related sectors. The policy arguments based on the epidemiological data are that moderate alcohol use is beneficial, therefore policy should not impact on moderate drinkers, only on heavy drinkers. This fits well with the arguments of those opposed to population public health measures such as taxation, controls on availability, and enforcement of drink-driving laws like random breath testing. However, there is a growing consensus among public health researchers that population measures are most effective at reducing alcohol-related harm. Concern has been expressed that the current public discourse on benefits of moderation will influence individuals to drink more. Of equal, or even greater, concern is the likelihood that this public discourse will decrease the chances that effective population focused policies will be implemented.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

The negotiation of New Zealand alcohol policy in a decade of stabilized consumption and political change: the role of research.

Significant changes in the key alcohol policy areas of availability, advertising and taxation have taken place in New Zealand from 1985 to 1991. These changes are described in the context of the social climate which was one of extreme fiscal crisis and an unprecedented swing to the right. The very limited role played by public health research in the process of policy development is viewed in part as a consequence of this social climate. The political changes affected the strength and extent of the public health voices in the debate and the reception they received. In each of the policy areas in which change occurred, the policy-keeper was other than a public health agency and the utilization of research by public health advocates was, therefore, in response to already articulated positions. The dissemination of research relied too heavily on lengthy written submissions, and too little on media advocacy and interpersonal contact. There was also a lack of directly relevant local research to inform the policy debate. The case study illustrates the constraints on researchers' in the policy development process, but suggests that such involvement is important for the public's health.

Advertising↗
PubMed1993

The importance of amount and location of drinking for the experience of alcohol-related problems.

People's self report of a variety of alcohol-related problems was collected as part of a national survey carried out in New Zealand in 1988. These problems included self perception of adverse effects of drinking on a number of life areas such as health, friendships and financial position; items covering tangible consequences of alcohol use and items suggestive of alcohol dependence. The experience of these problems was predicted from a number of socio-demographic variables and respondent's reports of their typical drinking behaviour. Of the socio-demographic variables only age was found to relate strongly to experience of problems. The overall frequency of drinking relatively large amounts and the typical quantity drunk in certain licensed premises (hotels, taverns and clubs) and the typical quantity drunk in others' homes predicted the experience of problems. These findings are similar to research from other countries using different methodologies and support the likely effectiveness of prevention strategies which reduce the access of young people to alcohol and which aim to influence the amounts consumed in drinking sessions on licensed premises.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

User reports of problems associated with alcohol and marijuana.

A general population sample of 5126 New Zealanders aged 15-45 in two regions was surveyed to determine their use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other illicit drugs. Self-reported problems were recorded on identical scales for alcohol and marijuana in order to make a direct comparison between alcohol and marijuana-related problems. The results suggest that alcohol-related problems were more common than marijuana-related ones in the general population, reflecting the fact that alcohol use was more widespread. Within the 17% of the sample who had used both alcohol and marijuana in the last 12 months more problems were reported from alcohol, once again reflecting differences in amounts consumed. Among heavier users of marijuana both alcohol and marijuana-related problems were more commonly reported than in the general sample. Problems were reported at similar levels for both drugs and the pattern of problems is somewhat similar.

Adolescent↗