Impact of media literacy education on knowledge and behavioral intention of adolescents in dealing with media messages according to Stages of Change

INTRODUCTION Mass media influence the health behaviors of adolescents. Evidence shows that traditional strategies such as censorship or limitation are no longer efficient; therefore, teaching media literacy is the best way to protect adolescents from harmful effects. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the effects of a media literacy training program on knowledge and behavioral intention of a sample of female students according to the stages of change in dealing with media messages. METHODS The study was conducted based on a pre-test and post-test control group design. Some 198 female students including 101 in the intervention group and 97 in the control group participated in this study. The educational program was run using interactive teaching-learning techniques. Data collection was performed using a validated and reliable self-administered questionnaire in three phases including a pre-test, post-test, 1 and post-test, 2. The research data was analyzed through SPSS statistical software, version 14 using both descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS The results of the study showed a significant increase (p=0.001) in the intervention group's knowledge mean scores after the training program. On the other hand, the difference was not significant in the control group (p=0.200). A considerable percentage of the participants, in the intervention and control groups, were in pre contemplation and contemplation stages in the pre-test (64 and 61, respectively). After the intervention, however, a significant improvement (p=0.001) was observed in the intervention group's stages of change compared to that in the control group. The distribution of the control group students regarding the stages of change was similar to that in the pre-test. CONCLUSION The study findings revealed that the planned education programs are efficient to improve the adolescents' knowledge and behavioral intention in dealing with mass media messages.