• Alcohol Beverage Label Evaluation (ABLE)
• Arizona Alcohol Warning Poster
• Television Violence Warnings
• Relevant Publications

GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) According to the Surgeon general, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems. 

High school students from a county in the Midwest were surveyed each year from the fall of 1989, before the label was required, to the fall of 1995. Students completed questionnaires assessing their exposure to, beliefs about, memory for, and awareness of the alcohol warning label. Additionally, drug history, self-reported drinking and driving behavior, and knowledge of fetal alcohol syndrome were measured. Initial findings indicate that memory, exposure, and awareness of the warning have increased. Alcohol use, driving after drinking, and beliefs about the risks of drinking have not changed since implementation of the warning. The initial positive effects of the warning leveled off approximately 3.5 years after the inclusion of the warning on alcohol beverage containers. Earlier alcohol use was associated with later exposure to the warning but early exposure to the warning was not associated with later alcohol use. These results suggest that the warning is having the intended effect, as stated by the law requiring the warning, of informing and reminding persons of the risks associated with alcohol use.  The warning does not appear to increase or decrease alcohol use. 

WARNING: Drinking distilled spirits, beer, coolers, wine, and other alcoholic beverages during pregnancy can cause birth defects. 

Arizona college students were surveyed before and after the legislation became effective. Introduction of the warning poster was associated with greater exposure, awareness, and memory for the content. There was suggestive but inconsistent evidence indicating less tolerance for alcohol consumption during pregnancy and no indication that intentions to avoid alcohol during pregnancy changed. The initial positive increases in awareness of and memory for the poster leveled off over time. These results were replicated in a sample of high-school students. 

MacKinnon, D.P., Nohre, L., Cheong, J., Stacy, A.W., & Pentz, M.A. (2001). Longitudinal relationship between the alcohol warning and alcohol consumption. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 62(2), 221-227. 

MacKinnon, D.P., Nohre, L., Pentz, M.A., & Stacy, A.W. (2000). The alcohol warning and adolescents: Five year effects. American Journal of Public Health, 90, 1589-1594. 

MacKinnon, D.P., & Nohre, L. (2000). Effects of the United States alcohol warning label on adolescents. Proceedings of the XIVth Triennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association and 44th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 4, 806- 809. 

Gerend, M.A., MacKinnon, D.P., & Nohre, L. (2000). Awareness and memory for television advisory warnings among high school students. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 28, 291-308. 

MacKinnon, D. P., Williams-Avery, R., Wilcox. K., & Fenaughty, A. (1999). Effects of the Arizona warning poster. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 18 (1), 77-78. 

Nohre, L., MacKinnon, D. P., Stacy, A. W., & Pentz, M. A. (1999). The association between adolescent receiver characteristics and exposure to the alcohol warning label. Journal of Psychology and Marketing, 16(3), 245-259. 

MacKinnon, D. P., & Lapin, A. (1998). The effects of alcohol warnings and advertisements: A test of the boomerang hypothesis. Journal of Psychology and Marketing, 15(7), 707-726. 

Barr, A., & MacKinnon, D. P. (1998). Designated driving among college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 59(5), 549-554. 

MacKinnon, D. P. (1995). Review of the effects of the alcohol warning label. Drug and Alcohol Abuse Reviews, Vol. 7: Alcohol, cocaine, and Accidents, R. R. Watson (Ed.), Totowa, NJ: Humana Press, Inc. 

MacKinnon, D. P., Williams-Avery, R. M., & Pentz, M. A. (1995). Adolescent beliefs and knowledge about the risks of drinking while pregnant. Public Health Reports, 110, 97-107. 

MacKinnon, D. P., Pentz, M. A., Broder, B. I., & MacLean, M. G. (1994). Social influences on adolescent driving under the influence in a sample of high school students. Alcohol, Drugs, and Driving, 10(3-4), 1-10. 

Fenaughty, A., & MacKinnon, D. P. (1993). Immediate effects of the Arizona alcohol warning poster. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 12(1),69-77. 

MacKinnon, D. P. (1993). A choice-based method to compare alternative alcohol warning labels. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 54, 614-617. 

MacKinnon, D. P., & Fenaughty, A. M. (1993). Substance use and memory for health warning labels. Health Psychology, 12, 147-150. 

MacKinnon, D. P., Nemeroff, C., & Nohre, L. (1993). Avoidance responses to alternative alcohol warning labels. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24, 733-753. 

MacKinnon, D. P., Pentz, M. A., & Stacy, A. W. (1993). The alcohol warning label and adolescents: The first year. American Journal of Public Health, 83, 585-587. 

Stacy, A. W., MacKinnon, D. P., & Pentz, M. A. (1993). Generality and specificity in health behavior: Application to warning-label and social influence expectancies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 611-627. 

MacKinnon, D. P., Stacy, A. W., Nohre, L., & Geiselman, R. E. (1992). Effects of processing depth on memory for the alcohol warning label. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 36^th Annual Meeting, 1, 538-542. Reprinted in Laughery, K. R., Wogalter, M. S., & Young, S. L. (Eds.) Human Factors Perspectives on Warnings: Selections from Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meetings 1980-1993, 1994.