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Biomedical subjects

J M Bernhardt

Publications and source records attributed to J M Bernhardt.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

When the perpetrator gets killed: effects of observing the death of a handgun user in a televised public service announcement.

This study evaluates the cognitive effects of an anti-handgun violence public service announcement (PSA) on sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students (N = 294). Participants were randomly assigned to a treatment group, which viewed a PSA depicting the death of an aggressive handgun user, or a comparison group, which viewed identical content except that the PSA showed no negative consequence for the handgun user. Logistic regression analysis, adjusting for race and gender, revealed that the treatment group was more likely to report negative expected outcomes for aggressively using a handgun and lower behavioral intentions to aggressively use a handgun compared with the comparison group. These findings suggest that observing handgun violence on television that depicts death as a negative physical consequence for the perpetrator may produce lower handgun-encouraging beliefs compared with observing no consequence for the perpetrator--the norm for most televised violence today.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Varying the message source in computer-tailored nutrition education.

The effect of message source on message recall and perceived credibility was examined in a randomized study comparing two different computer-tailored bulletins promoting fruit and vegetable consumption among rural African American church members. An expert oriented (EXP) bulletin was compared with a spiritual and pastor-oriented (SPIR) bulletin and a control group. Both bulletins had the same format and used an identical set of dietary and psychosocial variables for tailoring. At follow-up, the majority of both intervention groups recalled receiving the bulletin, however message trust was higher in the SPIR group (P < 0.05). The EXP group reported higher trust of health and nutrition information coming from scientific research (P < 0.01), and the SPIR group reported higher trust of information coming from the pastor (P < 0.05). Both bulletin groups increased fruit and vegetable consumption significantly compared to the control group; however, this difference could not be solely attributed to the tailored intervention which was part of a multi-component program.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Stages of change and psychosocial correlates of fruit and vegetable consumption among rural African-American church members.

PURPOSE: This study examined the relationship between stages of change, other psychosocial factors, and fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption among rural African-Americans participating in a 5 a Day study. DESIGN: The cross-sectional design assessed associations between F&V intake, stage of change, self-efficacy, beliefs, barriers, and social support. SETTING: Participants were surveyed by telephone. SUBJECTS: Subjects were 3557 adult church members (response rate, 79.1%), aged 18 and over from 10 North Carolina counties. MEASURES: A seven-item food frequency measured F&V intake. Stage of change was measured using four items; other psychosocial variables were measured using Likert scales. Chi-square tests and analysis of variance were used in statistical analyses. RESULTS: The majority of participants (65%) were in the preparation stage of change. Individuals in action/maintenance consumed an average of 6.5 daily F&V servings compared to 3.3 to 3.5 servings for those in precontemplation, contemplation, and preparation. Self-efficacy, social support, and belief about how many daily F&V servings are needed, were positively associated with stage. Barriers were most prevalent among precontemplators. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the applicability of the stages-of-change model to dietary change among rural African-Americans. The relationship between stage, self-efficacy, social support, and barriers supports using a multicomponent intervention strategy.

Adult↗