Delivered by Ingenta to: Rice University IP: 185.50.250.112 on: Sat, 11 Jun 2016 18:44:43 Copyright (c) PNG Publications. All rights reserved. 134 Media Use and Perceived Risk as Predictors of Marijuana Use Christopher E. Beaudoin, PhD; Traci Hong, PhD Christopher E. Beaudoin, Associate Profes- sor, and Traci Hong, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. Correspondence contact Dr Beaudoin: beaudoin@tamu.edu Objectives: To assess the influ- ence of media use and perceived risk on marijuana use outcomes. Methods: With survey data from 750 US young adults, structural equation modeling tested how atti- tudes, behaviors, and behavioral intention specific to marijuana use are influenced by perceived per- sonal and societal risk of marijuana use, media campaign exposure, and news use. Results: Perceived soci- etal risk had significant effects, though not as strong as perceived personal risk. Campaign exposure had favorable effects whereas those of news use were mixed. Conclu- sions: Perceived personal risk and perceived societal risk should be considered when designing preven- tive media campaigns. Key words: marijuana use, pre- vention, perceived risk, media Am J Health Behav. 2012;36(1):134-143 A common subject of previous re- search has been exploring the pre- dictors of illicit substance use. 1 One important predictor, perceived personal risk of marijuana use, has been found to influence declines in marijuana use. 2,3 In this regard, people’s perceptions of per- sonal harm influence their use of an illicit substance, 4 which involves the pro- cess by which they discern their vulner- ability to a negative outcome and, thereby, become motivated to change a related behavior. 5 Such consideration of vulner- ability and personal risk is consistent with health behavioral theorizing, includ- ing the Health Belief Model, which holds that health behaviors are a function of individual perceptions of susceptibility and severity 6 —and protection motivation theory, which proposes that one’s inten- tion to protect oneself is a function of perceptions of the severity of a health threat and its probability of occurrence. 7 The predominant notion, thus, is that an increase in a person’s perceptions of per- sonal risk can facilitate a decrease in an unfavorable health behavior, such as il- licit substance use. Given the importance of perceived per- sonal risk, several media campaigns have been developed to prevent marijuana use by influencing people’s risk perceptions. 3,8,9 The largest such campaign, the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), was inaugurated in 1998, re- ceiving more than $1 billion in federal support. 9 Despite the campaign’s magni- tude, its effects have been limited. 10,11 Such restricted campaign effects are important because marijuana use, after having declined during the preceding de- cade, has risen among teens and young adults over the past few years. 12,13 Fur- thermore, there are a number of deleteri- ous health outcomes associated with marijuana use, including premalignant changes in lungs; 14 increased risk of res- piratory complications; 15 cognitive defi- cits 16 ; and hallucination, paranoia, and severe anxiety. 17 In addition, marijuana use is associated with a 2- to 3- fold