Investigating effects of alcohol-related breast cancer warnings and binge-drinking frequency on alcohol consumption intentions among young adult female participants in the United States

Health Educ Res. 2026 Aug 21;41(5):cyag031. doi: 10.1093/her/cyag031.

ABSTRACT

Awareness of alcohol consumption as a breast cancer risk remains limited among young adult women in the USA. This experiment (N = 1038) examined how female young adults aged 18-29 reporting past 30-day alcohol consumption responded to health warnings about the risk of alcohol for developing breast cancer. Structural equation modeling assessed associations between health warning exposure, binge-drinking frequency, negative affect, perceived threat of alcohol harms and behavioral intentions to reduce or stop drinking alcohol and seek information about alcohol health effects. Results found that exposure to health warnings elicited increased negative affect (β = .12, P < .001), which was associated with higher perceived threat of alcohol harms (β = .35, P < .001). Higher binge-drinking frequency was associated with increased negative affect (β = .21, P < .001) and perceived threat of alcohol harms (β = .13, P < .001). Finally, greater perceived threat of alcohol harms was associated with greater behavioral intentions to reduce drinking (β = .24, P < .001), stop drinking (β = .17, P < .001), seek information about alcohol harms (β = .34, P < .001), discuss alcohol harms with friends and medical professionals (β = .31, P < .001), and support policies for warnings on alcohol products (β = .15, P < .001). Findings suggest health warning designers should consider high-risk drinking patterns and develop warnings that influence affective reactions and related threat responses.

PMID:42752577 | DOI:10.1093/her/cyag031