School of Communication and the Arts, Regent University, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.
J Health Commun. 2010 Jun;15(4):358-73. doi: 10.1080/10810730903460575.
Exposure to a sports celebrity through media and sporting events can have important influences on a public health issue associated with that celebrity. The battle against drug use by Argentinean soccer icon Diego Maradona has provoked concerns about drug abuse and prevention in Argentina, particularly among young people. The present study analyzes how two forms of involvement with Maradona affected the public's concern and perceptions of drug use after Maradona's drug-related health crisis in 2004. Results indicate that those who had a greater degree of parasocial interaction with Maradona were more likely to have an increased awareness of drug abuse, a greater personal concern about drug abuse, abstained from drug use, and more strongly support drug abuse prevention programs. In contrast, identification with Maradona had a mitigating effect on drug use prevention. Implications of these findings regarding the influence of sports celebrities on substance abuse are discussed.
通过媒体和体育赛事接触体育名人会对与该名人相关的公共卫生问题产生重要影响。阿根廷足球偶像迭戈·马拉多纳（Diego Maradona）与吸毒作斗争，引发了阿根廷对吸毒问题的关注和预防，尤其是在年轻人中。本研究分析了在马拉多纳 2004 年因吸毒导致健康危机后，两种与马拉多纳接触的方式如何影响公众对吸毒的关注和看法。结果表明，那些与马拉多纳有更多准社会互动的人更有可能提高对吸毒的认识，对吸毒有更大的个人关注，避免吸毒，并更强烈地支持吸毒预防计划。相比之下，认同马拉多纳对吸毒预防有减轻作用。讨论了这些发现对体育名人对药物滥用影响的意义。
