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Alcohol warning labels can play a role in influencing the purchasing behaviour of young people, according to a new study from researchers at The University of Western Australia.

Assistant Professor Wade Jarvis and Professor Simone Pettigrew, from the UWA Business School , examined the impact of brand, alcohol content, and various warning statements on the purchasing choices of 18-25-year-old drinkers of pre-mixed alcoholic drinks.

With a large percentage of young Australians engaging in risky drinking behaviours, Assistant Professor Jarvis says alcohol warning statements can play a role in reducing purchasing over time.

‘In the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, around 40 per cent of 14-19-year-olds and 60 per cent of 20-29-year-olds reported consuming alcohol at risky or high-risk levels at least once in the previous 12 months,' he said.

‘In our study, we found that worded messages can influence behaviour, but the impact varies.'

The drinking classes

The 300 study participants were each asked to make a series of decisions around their preferences for different alcoholic drinks. Each choice required participants to choose between various combinations of brands, alcohol content levels and warning statements.

From the results, the researchers were able to divide survey respondents into five clear classes, or groups.

The first group comprised mostly male respondents with no clear brand preference, but with strong preferences for beverages with higher alcohol content. The second group was female-dominated, with preferences for a branded rum-based beverage and drinks with high alcohol content.

The third group had an even male/female split, a strong preference for a branded vodka-based beverage, and also for drinks with higher alcohol content. The fourth group, which contained mostly male participants, had a strong preference for a branded bourbon-based beverage, but no clear alcohol content preferences. Finally, the fifth group had an even male/female split and no clear brand preferences, but a strong preference for beverages with lower alcohol content. This group was the only one with strong preference for the lowest alcohol content (four per cent).

Warning!

Clearly, the study respondents' choice of beverage was affected by brand and alcohol content. But what effect did different alcohol warning statements have on these choices?

Focus group results showed messages based around drink driving and health (brain development) would be considered most effective and these were used in the choice study. While the effects of these alcohol warning statements varied, one clear trend across the data was the deterrent effect of negatively framed messages around health.

‘Given some recent discussion about using positively framed statements on youth, our results actually showed negatively framed messages around health worked better, particularly with the three groups that were heavier drinkers,' explained Assistant Professor Jarvis.

‘However, with the fourth group we found no effect from any of the statements and we had two results where a positively framed message actually had a positive effect on purchasing. This is outside the scope of this paper but we have since found that the moderate drinkers (fifth group) use any warning statement, whether it is negatively or positively worded and on whatever topic (i.e. driving or health) to positively reinforce their moderate behaviour (i.e. choosing low alcohol content drinks). In this respect, moderate drinkers use any statement in a positive way and this is an important finding as it suggests that warning statements can reinforce moderate behaviour.

‘With heavier drinking females, however, there are unintended consequences of warning statements, because this group uses positive messages (i.e. "Make sure you're okay to drive") to reinforce riskier behaviour. This may be because if the context is not relevant, (i.e. I am not driving tonight) females will overcompensate by choosing higher-alcohol products.

‘My way of thinking now is that warning messages should be seen more as a positive for society, because if done correctly, they may lead to multiple types of behaviours that apply to groups that need to use them in different ways. However, the correct context of the message is paramount. In most cases, negative messages around health consequences have the required outcome for both heavier drinkers and moderate drinkers.'


"The relative influence of alcohol warning statement type on young drinkers' stated choices", by Assistant Professor Wade Jarvis and Professor Simone Pettigrew, has been accepted for publication in Food Quality and Preference.

Media references

Catherine Vogel (UWA Business School) +618 6488 7340
Verity Chia (UWA Business School) +618 6488 1346