Effects of mass communication on attitudes toward anabolic steroids: an analysis of high school seniors

Drawing on a national probability sample of high school seniors (n = 2,560), this research explores relationships between exposure to four types of mass communication--magazines, movies, newspapers, and television--and attitudes toward anabolic steroids, operationalized along three dependent measures. Logistic regression analyses revealed statistically significant relationships among (a) magazine exposure and estimates of drug use in professional sports, (b) newspaper and television exposure and disapproval of steroid use, (c) newspaper exposure and estimates of self-inflicted harm caused by steroid use, and (d) exposure to anti-drug spots and each of the three dependent variables. Theoretical and methodological implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.