Annenberg Public Policy Center

APPC and Ohio State researchers help understand the influence of maternal sexual communication on adolescent risky sexual behaviors

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

When mothers engage in frequent sexual discussions with their teenagers but fail to express clear disapproval of teenagers’ sexual involvement, their efforts are more likely to result in greater risky sexual involvement by their teen, according to a new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. The study was conducted by Atika Khurana, postdoctoral fellow at the Annenberg Public Policy Center and Elizabeth C. Cooksey, Professor of Sociology and Associate Director of the Center for Human Resource Research at the Ohio State University.

APPC Scholars in the News

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Two More Webbys for FactCheck.org

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

APPC calculates dollars spent by four highest spending third party groups on deceptive TV ads attacking or supporting Republican presidential contenders

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

For Immediate Release

Drawing on spending estimates from Kantar Media CMAG and the fact checking of FactCheck.org, the Annenberg Public Policy Center has created a dollars in deception measure (DDs) calculating dollars spent on televised presidential third party ads by the groups calling themselves “The Red White and Blue Fund,” “Winning Our Future,” “Restore Our Future,” and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

From Iowa through Wisconsin, 23.3 million (56.7%) of the 41.1 million dollars were spent on 19 ads containing deceptive or misleading claims.

APPC releases research on gender portrayals in film 1950-2006

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Since 1950 males outnumber female movie characters 2 to 1

But when present, females twice as likely to be involved in sexual scenes;
Both males and females increasingly involved in violence

Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) research that analyzed 855 top 30 box-office films from 1950 to 2006 shows that women have been consistently underrepresented as main characters for at least six decades. The ratio of male to female characters has been steady at about 2 to 1 (see Figure 1) over this time period.

Research study video press release

APPC Research Cited in 2012 Surgeon General’s Report

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Research on the portrayal of tobacco use in popular movies conducted by APPC’s Adolescent Risk Communication Institute, directed by Patrick E. Jamieson, Ph.D., was cited in the 2012 Surgeon General's Report, “Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults.” (The full report can be found here: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/preventing-youth-tobacco-use/full-report.pdf.) A figure comparing tobacco use in movies with cigarette consumption in the U.S. adapted from Dr. Jamieson’s book, The Changing Portrayal of Adolescents in the Media Since 1950, co-edited with APPC Associate Director Dan Romer, Ph.D., can be found on page 570. The APPC research on tobacco use is part of its CHAMP project, a multi-year content analysis of health risk behaviors contained in popular U.S. movies, television, music, and music videos.

Cable News Networks Increase Amount and Public Accessibility of Incivility, Annenberg Public Policy Center Study Finds

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

When the January 2011 tragedy in Tucson sparked concerns about incivility and the coarsening of the media culture, an eight person research team at the Annenberg Public Policy Center decided to replace speculation with scholarship by studying the ways in which MSNBC, CNN, and FOX covered 38 uncivil statements by or about political leaders, groups or activists, 19 by or about liberals/progressives and 19 by or about conservatives. Instances were located by searching the Lexis-Nexis and Thomas data bases. The study analyzed all cable news coverage of these incidents within seven days of the remark or behavior.

Annenberg Research Helps Explain Early Sexual Initiation in Adolescents

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

In a study published in Developmental Psychology, researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have identified two components of weak self-control that predict early sexual initiation in urban adolescents. In a study of 347 Philadelphia youth followed for four years, the researchers found that two forms of weak self-control, the tendency to act without thinking and to be impatient when waiting for rewards, predicted early initiation. Both of these tendencies were related to a limitation in the ability to hold thoughts in mind, a basic cognitive skill that can be trained. Contrary to what many researchers have found, sensation seeking was not related to early sexual initiation when the other two forms of weak self-control were held constant.

Special edition of The Annals on the Martin Fishbein Seminar Series now available

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The March 2012 issue of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, which features articles derived from the Martin Fishbein Memorial Seminar Series, is now available. Michael Hennessy, Ph.D., Senior Research Analyst at APPC, is special editor of the volume, "Advancing Reasoned Action Theory."

Also contributing to the special issue are Amy Jordan, Ph.D., Director of APPC’s Media and the Developing Child area, and APPC Researchers Amy Bleakley, Ph.D., and Brenda Curtis, Ph.D.

APPC News Brief: Op-Ed by APPC’s Amy Jordan in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Amy Jordan, head of APPC’s Media and the Developing Child area, wrote an op-ed on the evolving role of social media in teens’ lives that appeared in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer.

You can click here to download Dr. Jordan’s piece: On social media, teens are the experts.