MCRC Faculty Leaders Chris Cascio, Communication, Brain and Behavior (CBB) Lab Faculty Leader, and Sijia Yang, Computational Approaches and Message Effects Research (CAMER) Group Faculty Leader, are co-PIs on a new project, “Developing and Testing the Impacts of Cannabis Prevention Messages for At-Risk Young Adults”. They have received funding for their proposal submitted to the 2020 Fall Research Competition.
Abstract: The proliferation of legalizing recreational use of cannabis products, combined with shifted public perceptions and youth-appealing marketing has put young adults at high risk for cannabis use initiation and progression into disorder. Despite that early onset of regular cannabis use is associated with higher health risks and poorer educational and vocational attainment, young adults’ harm perceptions have been nevertheless declining. To improve knowledge and prevent early and habitual use, cannabis prevention messages (CPMs) are required to facilitate educational communication campaigns and enhance health warning labels on product packages and advertisements. However, little research exists to provide an empirical basis for designing effective CPMs for this age group. We propose a multi-method approach that combines the strengths of online conjoint experiment and neuroimaging to identify effective CPMs promising in improving knowledge and preventing cannabis use among young people.