Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jul 26;19(15):9123. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159123.
This study examined the effect of message source credibility on e-cigarette harm perceptions among U.S. young adults. An online experimental study was conducted where young adults (n = 302, Mage = 23.7) were randomized to an e-cigarette public health education message from an expert or a peer young adult. Then, participants answered questions about their perceptions about the message source and e-cigarettes. Results suggest that young adults rated experts as a more credible source (vs. peer) (b = −0.39, SE = 0.15, 95% CI [−0.67, −0.10], p < 0.01). Young adults reported greater perceived credibility of the expert message (vs. peer), which was associated with increased e-cigarette harm perceptions. Increased perceived source credibility mediated the association of increased e-cigarette absolute harm perceptions from viewing an expert message (b = −0.11, SE = 0.04, 95% CI: −0.20, −0.02). Source credibility should be considered when designing e-cigarette education messages for young adults.
本研究考察了信息源可信度对美国年轻成年人对电子烟危害认知的影响。采用在线实验研究方法，将年轻人（n=302，Mage=23.7）随机分配到来自专家或同龄年轻人的电子烟公共卫生教育信息中。然后，参与者回答了有关他们对信息源和电子烟认知的问题。结果表明，年轻人认为专家是更可信的信息源（vs. 同龄人）（b=-0.39，SE=0.15，95%置信区间[-0.67，-0.10]，p<0.01）。年轻人报告称，专家的信息更可信（vs. 同龄人），这与电子烟危害认知增加有关。增加的感知来源可信度中介了从观看专家信息中感知到的电子烟绝对危害增加的关联（b=-0.11，SE=0.04，95%置信区间：-0.20，-0.02）。在为年轻成年人设计电子烟教育信息时，应该考虑信息源可信度。
