Changes in maternal attitudes toward baby bottle tooth decay

Author(s): Kanellis, M.J. et al
Journal: Pediatric Dentistry
Volume (number): 19:1
Month, Year: 1997
Major topic: knowledge and attitudes of parents toward baby bottle tooth decay
Minor topic(s): n/a
Type of Article: research article
Main Purpose: to determine if women hearing a persuasive message about baby bottle tooth decay would process this message primarily through central or peripheral route.
Overview of method of research: 120 low-income women meeting the following qualifications were enrolled: pregnant or had a child younger than 7 months, in eastern Iowa WIC program, and at a level of literacy allowing for unassisted completion of a consent form. Participants completed a questionnaire and a pre-intervention attitudinal survey to determine knowledge of, anxieties about, and attitudes toward baby bottle tooth decay. Subjects were then randomly divided into 3 different groups: 2 experimental and one control. The two experimental groups learned about baby bottle tooth decay while the control group did not. The idea behind the two experimental groups was to evaluate if the way in which knowledge was processed affected how an individual formed an attitude, based on routes of persuasion. The two routes of persuasion are central and peripheral; persuasion through the central route occurs when careful evaluation of the message content is possible; persuasion through the peripheral route occurs when surrounding cues are influencing the person’s ability to focus on the issue being presented. Attitudes formed via the central route have been found to be more persistent and predictive of behavior. Experimental group one received their message about baby bottle tooth decay through the peripheral route of persuasion. Experimental group two received this message through the central route. Subjects then completed the same intervention attitudinal and knowledge surveys. “Change in knowledge” and “change in attitude” was then measured based on the pre and post surveys.
Findings: It was hypothesized that study participants receiving information via the central method of persuasion would demonstrate a significant increase in attitude score versus those receiving information via peripheral method. Although participants hearing about baby bottle tooth decay did show significant positive change in attitude and knowledge regarding baby bottle tooth decay versus those in the control group, there was no significant difference between the two experimental groups.
Key points/Summary: the connection between knowledge and behavior is not always easy to defined, particularly in relation to health.
Assessment of article: interesting and slightly disheartening news.