Appendix B: Review of Media Content Analyses: 1980-1998

Twenty-one content analyses that examine portrayals of illegal drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and/or legal drugs in media have been published since 1980. As the following annotated bibliography indicates, the research encompasses a variety of approaches and concerns.

The substance of primary concern has been alcohol, examined by 15 of the 21 studies. Eleven studies focused exclusively on alcohol, five on tobacco, and one on legal and over-the-counter drugs. Two studies examined both alcohol and tobacco; one looked at illegal drugs, legal drugs, and alcohol; and one looked at all four substances.

The medium most frequently studied has been television. Seventeen of the studies analyzed television content. Most concentrated on prime-time fictional content, but daytime soap operas, news and documentary programs, commercials, and music videos also received attention. Of the four studies on movies made for theatrical release, three examined only tobacco and one looked at all four substance categories. No work concerned with substance use in popular song lyrics has been located, although one study reports on tobacco and alcohol use in music videos.

Comparisons among studies are somewhat difficult to make due to differences in units of analysis. Movies do not conveniently compare to television programs (i.e., half-hour television programs cannot be compared directly to much longer movies), but even within television, program units may range from 90-minute made-for-television movies to hour dramas to half-hour situation comedies and soap operas to even briefer music video and commercial formats. Compounding the problem, different studies often use different units of analysis within what might otherwise be comparable units. For example, tobacco use has been examined in a variety of ways, in terms of whether or not tobacco appeared in a movie or a television program, the number of scenes in which tobacco appeared or was used, its appearance per 5-minute interval, the total amount of time tobacco appeared on screen, or the number of incidents (defined as individual camera shots in which a character explicitly used tobacco). Similarly, alcohol use has been examined in movies in a variety of ways.

On still another level, some studies coded verbal references to various substances; some concentrated on the appearance of a substance regardless of whether or not it was used; others focused on use; still others paid attention to a variety of character and context attributes associated with use or the frequency of use.

Of the two studies concerned with illegal drugs, one tallied the number of television news programs, public service announcements, or documentaries that mentioned illegal drugs, and the other the number of 5-minute intervals per film in which illegal drug use appeared.

Despite large differences in variables coded and units of analysis, data from the combined studies enable a few preliminary generalizations. In general, tobacco and alcohol are consumed at relatively high rates; smoking is more prevalent in television and film than in the real world, and it is increasing still further on television. In both television and film, alcoholic beverages are more likely to be consumed than non-alcoholic beverages. Drinkers and smokers tend to be leading characters, often protagonists, and usually successful. Underage drinking and smoking are relatively uncommon in both media.

Illegal drug use is seldom portrayed on television; the one prior study that examined movies also found low rates of illegal drug references. Illegal drug users tend to be unattractive, low-status, and/or criminals. More detailed findings can be found in the following sources.