National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
J Med Internet Res. 2020 Aug 31;22(8):e19056. doi: 10.2196/19056.
The mass media have been condemned for encouraging young people to take dietary supplements (DS). Media literacy, which includes authors and audiences (AA), messages and meanings (MM), and representation and reality (RR) domains, is a new approach to teaching young adults to make better informed health decisions. However, it is not clear which domains are the most important for media literacy education.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the associations among individual factors, media literacy, and DS use.
The survey instrument included demographic items, the DS Media Literacy Scale (DSMLS), and DS use items (users or nonusers, types of DS, current use of DS, and intention to use DS in the future). The DSMLS is an 11-item instrument designed to assess college students' AA, MM, and RR media literacy in relation to DS. A total of 467 Taiwanese college students participated in the study. Descriptive statistical analysis, logistic regression analysis, and multiple regression analysis were conducted.
A total of 338/467 (72.4%) participants reported using DS, and 176/467 (37.7%) consumed 3 or more supplements. Moreover, the MM media literacy domain was associated with having been a DS user (odds ratio 0.63, P=.002), current DS use (β=-.10, P=.02), and intention to use DS in the future (β=-.12, P=.011). Finally, perceived importance of health was positively related to current DS use (β=.18, P=.001) and intention to use DS in the future (β=.18, P=.001).
This study showed that the majority of Taiwanese college students were DS users and used multiple types of supplements. Moreover, students with lower MM media literacy were more likely to be DS users, to take DS more frequently, and to have higher intentions for future frequent DS use. Finally, those who placed extreme importance on health were more likely to take DS frequently and have higher intentions for future frequent DS use.
大众媒体因鼓励年轻人服用膳食补充剂（DS）而受到谴责。媒体素养包括作者和受众（AA）、信息和意义（MM）以及表现和现实（RR）领域，是一种教授年轻人做出更明智健康决策的新方法。然而，目前尚不清楚媒体素养教育中哪些领域最重要。
本研究旨在调查个体因素、媒体素养与 DS 使用之间的关联。
调查工具包括人口统计学项目、DS 媒体素养量表（DSMLS）和 DS 使用项目（使用者或非使用者、DS 类型、当前 DS 使用情况以及未来使用 DS 的意图）。DSMLS 是一种 11 项工具，旨在评估大学生与 DS 相关的 AA、MM 和 RR 媒体素养。共有 467 名台湾大学生参与了这项研究。进行了描述性统计分析、逻辑回归分析和多元回归分析。
共有 338/467（72.4%）名参与者报告使用 DS，176/467（37.7%）名参与者服用 3 种或以上补充剂。此外，MM 媒体素养领域与 DS 用户（优势比 0.63，P=.002）、当前 DS 使用（β=-.10，P=.02）和未来使用 DS 的意图（β=-.12，P=.011）相关。最后，对健康的重视程度与当前 DS 使用（β=.18，P=.001）和未来使用 DS 的意图（β=.18，P=.001）呈正相关。
本研究表明，大多数台湾大学生是 DS 用户，且使用多种类型的补充剂。此外，MM 媒体素养较低的学生更有可能成为 DS 用户，更频繁地服用 DS，并对未来更频繁地服用 DS 有更高的意图。最后，那些对健康非常重视的人更有可能经常服用 DS，并对未来经常服用 DS 有更高的意图。
