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Millions of U.S. adults join online support groups to attain health goals, but the social ties they form are often too weak to provide the support they need. What impedes the strengthening of ties in such groups? We explore the role of demographic differences in causing the impediment and demographic self-disclosure in removing it. Using a field study of online quit-smoking groups complemented by three laboratory experiments, we find that members tend to hide demographic differences, concerned about poor social integration that will weaken their ties. However, the self-disclosures of demographic differences that naturally occur during group member discussions actually strengthen their ties, which in turn facilitates attainment of members’ health goals. In other words, social ties in online groups are weak not because members are demographically different, but because they are reluctant to self-disclose their differences. If they do self-disclose, this breeds interpersonal connection, trumping any demographic differences among them. Data from both laboratory and field about two types of demographic difference—dyad-level dissimilarity and group-level minority status—provide convergent support for our findings.

Adolescents face exceptional challenges and opportunities that may have a lifelong impact on their consumption and personal and societal well-being. Parents, community members (schools and neighborhoods), and policymakers play major roles in shaping adolescents and influencing their engagement in consumption behaviors that are either developmentally problematic (e.g., drug use and unhealthy eating) or developmentally constructive (e.g., academic pursuits and extracurricular activities). In this article, we discuss two main topics: (a) the challenges and opportunities that characterize adolescence, based primarily on research in epidemiology and neuroscience, and (b) the ways that parents, community members, and policymakers can facilitate positive adolescent development, based on research from many disciplines including marketing, psychology, sociology, communications, public health, and education. Our goal is to summarize the latest scientific findings that can be used by various stakeholders to help adolescents navigate this turbulent period and become well-adjusted, thriving adults.

The effects of hyperopia and frugality on spending have not been directly compared. Moreover, previous research on hyperopia has focused on the avoidance of luxury spending, rather than spending on routine consumer goods. We address these gaps in the literature by comparing how hyperopia and frugality affect monthly spending, and spending on ordinary consumer goods. Our survey indicates that both tendencies relate to lower monthly spending. Our shopping experiment extends these findings by showing that both hyperopic and frugal consumers avoid purchasing higher priced consumer goods when lower priced substitutes are available. Our findings contribute to the literature, which suggests that hyperopic consumers avoid indulgent luxuries, by showing that they also avoid higher priced routine consumer goods and exhibit lower monthly spending, similar to frugal consumers, but for fundamentally different reasons. Hyperopia inhibits spending by lowering the motivation to spend, while frugality inhibits spending by increasing the motivation to save.

In a series of studies, consumers reviewed over-the-counter (OTC) drug packages and evaluated these drugs for concurrent use. The authors investigate whether the consumers utilized the active ingredients listed on the package and recognized the risks of double dosing when using two drugs with the same active ingredient. Both novice and expert consumers used the active ingredients to assess drug similarity, indicating that the information was accessible. However, only medically trained experts used this information to assess the risks of taking two drugs concurrently, indicating that they understood its diagnosticity or relevancy. Novices' failure to view double dosing as risky suggests that they might hold a naive belief that OTC drugs are relatively risk free; thus, the authors test interventions to increase active ingredient diagnosticity versus accessibility. One intervention considered by OTC drug manufacturers makes active ingredients more accessible on packages using icons. However, the authors found this approach alone to be ineffective, whereas interventions enhancing the diagnosticity of ingredients through public service messages or package warnings yielded promising results. Thus, interventions may benefit by going beyond accessibility to also highlight active ingredient diagnosticity.

Two studies on consumer information search and decision strategies involved in the selection of family health care providers are reported. The first study examined the selection process for both adults and children within the family. Factors associated with dissatisfaction with provider were identified. The second study explored differences among individuals in self-reported presence of a regular health care provider and use of recent innovations in health care such as walk-in clinics and HMOs.