Effects of Responsibility Attribution and Message Source on Young Adults' Health Attitudes and Behaviors

This study investigated the effect of message attributes on responses to health messages. The authors examined 3 variables--responsibility attribution (individual vs. social), source (personal blog vs. online magazine), and illness (stigmatized vs. nonstigmatized)--for effects on young adults' health-related attitudes and behaviors. Responsibility attributions influenced attitudes about individual responsibility for health but did not alter participants' behavioral intentions. Further, individuals exposed to a story from a health magazine exhibited stronger intentions to communicate about health than individuals exposed to a personal health blog. Although women's attitudes regarding social responsibility for health did not differ by illness type or responsibility attribution, men's attitudes did.