@article {3791, title = {The use of message framing to promote sexual risk reduction in young adolescents: a pilot exploratory study.}, journal = {Health education research}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Jan 21}, abstract = {Few studies have explored the application of message framing to promote health behaviors in adolescents. In this exploratory study, we examined young adolescents{\textquoteright} selection of gain- versus loss-framed images and messages when designing an HIV-prevention intervention to promote delayed sexual initiation. Twenty-six adolescents (aged 10-14 years) participated in six focus groups and created and discussed posters to persuade their peers to delay the initiation of sexual activity. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed. A five-person multidisciplinary team analyzed the posters and focus group transcripts using thematic analysis. The majority of the posters (18/26, 69\%) contained both gain- and loss-framed content. Of the 93/170 (56\%) images and messages with framing, similar proportions were gain- (48/93, 52\%) and loss-framed (45/93, 48\%). Most gain-framed content (23/48, 48\%) focused on academic achievement, whereas loss-framed content focused on pregnancy (20/45, 44\%) and HIV/AIDS (14/45, 31\%). These preliminary data suggest that young adolescents may prefer a combination of gain- and loss-framing in health materials to promote reduction in sexual risk behaviors.}, issn = {1465-3648}, doi = {10.1093/her/cyt156}, author = {Camenga, Deepa R and Hieftje, Kimberly D and Fiellin, Lynn E and Edelman, E Jennifer and Rosenthal, Marjorie S and Duncan, Lindsay R} }