Facts and stories about sex and STIs: The effects of health messages regarding STIs on young people in New South Wales Health message frame and format effects on young people’s perceived vulnerability to become infected with an STI, and their intentional condom use

Abstract

The annual number of diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has been rising, with highest STI rates continuing to be found among young people. Theory and research associate a greater perceived vulnerability to a health threat and higher behavioural intentions with an increase in the likelihood of enacting health behaviour. This study assessed the effects of health message format and health message frame on young people’s perceived vulnerability to become infected with an STI and their intention to use condoms. Young people between 18 and 29 years, who currently lived in Australia and thought of themselves as hetero- or bisexual (n = 167), completed the online study, in which they were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a 2 (message format: testimonial or statistical) x 2 (message frame: gain or loss) factorial between-subjects design. Analyses of variance show that testimonial messages are significantly more effective than statistical messages in increasing both young people’s perceived vulnerability to become infected with an STI and their intention to use condoms. Moreover, a significant interaction between message frame and message format type on intention to use condoms was found. Results in particular suggest that message framing affects the effect of statistical messages; young people who read a statistical message in a loss-frame had a significant higher intention to use condoms than people who read a statistical message in a gain-frame. Furthermore, young people’s perceived vulnerability to become infected with an STI is positively associated with their intention to use condoms. Findings extend previous theorizing and research, and suggest that messages in a testimonial format are the most effective and safest mode in health communication to increase young people’s perceived vulnerability to become infected with an STI and their intention to use condoms. Health messages in a statistical format should focus on the losses one may experience by engaging in a risk behaviour, or not engaging in the health protective behaviour.