Article Evidence in Support of a Strategy to Target Authoritarian and Permissive Parents in Antidrug Media Campaigns

Using a theoretical model of parenting, this study assessed the differential effects of parental antidrug ads on parents who have adopted an authoritarian parenting style and on those who use a permissive parenting style. The effects of two types of ads were studied. One ad type featured parental monitoring and the other ad type featured nurturing parent practices. An ad type by parenting style interaction was predicted on cognitions, attitudes, and behavioral intent to monitor or engage in positive involvement parenting. Two data analytic strategies provided moderate support for the hypothesis. The results suggested that a targeting approach using parenting styles is viable for future research. Keywords: antidrug ad, parental influence, parenting styles, substance use prevention, adolescents A fundamental issue faced by communication scholars is crafting and conveying a persua-sive argument in a way that effectively takes into account the beliefs, attitudes, and values of the audience to which the message is addressed. The challenge is particularly difficult when audience members hold diverse or counterattitudinal opinions on the topic of interest (e.g., Knobloch-Westerwick & Meng, 2009). Media scholars and practitioners often choose to address this challenge with two strategies—audience segmentation and message target-ing (Slater, 1995), such that mediated messages for specific audiences are more focuse