Speakers
Description
Authors: Michael Coleman (Claremont Graduate University), William Crano (Claremont Graduate University)
Background: Use of ENDS (e-cigarettes or vapes) has risen substantially among youth, prompting costly prevention campaigns that failed frequently owing to neglect or misuse of established persuasion theory, poor instrumentation, or failure to tailor communications to audience concerns. Two experiments addressed how language variations and strategic message adaptation could improve ENDS-prevention outcomes.
Methods: Study 1 (N=307) assessed participants’ preferred terminology ("e-cigarettes" vs "vapes") and randomly assigned them to receive persuasive messages in conditions that either matched or mismatched their language preference (language congruence).
Study 2 (N = 652) compared the effectiveness of ENDS prevention online posters developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with modified versions designed using the EQUIP message development model (a method of creating messages that are engaging, question existing beliefs, undermine those beliefs, provide supporting alternative information, and use a host of contextual factors to persuade), while also examining the roles of language congruence, user status, and perceived vested interest (i.e., the extent to which an issue is deemed objectively important and subjectively hedonically relevant).
Results: In Study 1, terminology-congruent messages produced usage reports aligned with national benchmarks, while incongruent language was associated with inconsistent usage self-reports and low attitude-behavior correlations, suggesting reduced validity. In Study 2, EQUIP-based messages with congruent language significantly outperformed standard FDA messages across multiple psychosocial outcomes. Significant interactions involving language congruence, message type, and user status showed that tailoring message language to congruent terminology and vested interests enhanced persuasive effects (p < .002). Moderation analysis showed vested interest and language congruence strengthened the attitude-intention link, and user status mediated this relationship (R² = .64, p < .001).
Discussion: Findings highlight the critical role of language congruence in prevention messaging. Adapting communications through the EQUIP model and aligning terminology with audience language preferences significantly improves the effectiveness of ENDS prevention efforts.
| Conflict of interest | No conflicts of interest |
|---|
