The influence of celebrity exemplars on college students' smoking.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined the effect of celebrity smoking exemplars in health news on college students' perceptions of smoking-related health risks and smoking intentions.


PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS
The data were collected using a Web-based survey of 219 undergraduate students at a large midwestern university in March 2011. Separate analyses of covariance were conducted.


RESULTS
The influence of negative exemplars of celebrity smoking on perceptions of smoking-related health risks and smoking intentions varied according to smoking status. Ever-smokers who read smoking news with negative exemplars of celebrity smoking were more likely than ever-smokers who read the same news absent any exemplar to report higher levels of perceptions of smoking-related health risks and lower levels of smoking intentions. However, these patterns were not found in never-smokers.


CONCLUSIONS
Exemplification theory enhanced by the celebrity element may be effectively applied as a strategy to change health behavior in college students.
['Yoo|Woohyun|W|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000329:Advertising D001294:Attitude to Health D005260:Female D015438:Health Behavior D006293:Health Promotion D006801:Humans D008297:Male D012907:Smoking D016540:Smoking Cessation D013334:Students D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D014481:United States D014495:Universities D055815:Young Adult
celebrity exemplar college student smoking exemplification theory Antismoking messaging