When Students Patronize Fast-Food Restaurants near School: The Effects of Identification with the Student Community, Social Activity Spaces and Social Liability Interventions

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2 authors, 2 centres

AI SUMMARY

FIDELITY 100%

POPULATIONAdolescent and young adult students (high school and university students)

INTERVENTIONSocial liability messaging (e.g., student activism posts, boycott posters) vs. health liability messaging

COMPARISONControl messages; Restaurant proximity (near vs. far from school)

This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.

AGENT 01 · STRUCTURED SUMMARY

TRACE TO SOURCE

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TL;DR

A series of studies found that students who strongly identify with their school community are more likely to patronize nearby fast-food restaurants because they perceive them as social spaces to see friends. A social liability message framing patronage as socially undesirable was effective in reducing this behavior, whereas a health-focused message was not.

Full summary

1,117 CHARS

This research investigates the link between fast-food restaurant proximity to schools and student patronage, proposing that identification with the student community is a key moderator. Strong identifiers showed higher patronage when a restaurant was near, whereas weak identifiers did not. Studies 2-6 used experimental manipulations with university and older high school students. Study 2, a field experiment with coupon redemption, confirmed that strong identifiers were drawn to a near restaurant (44% redeemed) versus a far one (7%), while weak identifiers showed no location preference. Study 3 demonstrated that this effect is mediated by the perception of the restaurant as a social activity space to see friends. Studies 4 and 5 tested interventions, finding that social liability messages (e.g., a student post stating 'Students at this school would never be seen by friends at fast-food restaurants' or a boycott poster) effectively nullified the attraction of nearby fast food for strong identifiers. Study 6 showed a health-focused message was ineffective and even counterproductive for weak identifiers.

PICO

PPOPULATION

Adolescent and young adult students (high school and university students)

IINTERVENTION

Social liability messaging (e.g., student activism posts, boycott posters) vs. health liability messaging

OOUTCOME

Fast-food restaurant patronage (self-reported, behavioral coupon redemption, and intent)

STUDY TYPE

other

SPECIALTY

nutrition

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10002251

When Students Patronize Fast-Food Restaurants near School: The Effects of Identification with the Student Community, Social Activity Spaces and Social Liability Interventions

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

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ABSTRACT

Abstract US schools have fast-food restaurants nearby, encouraging student patronage, unhealthy consumption, and weight gain. Geographers have developed an activity space framework which suggests this nearby location effect will be moderated by whether people perceive the location as their activity space. Therefore, we study whether students perceive a fast-food restaurant near school as their activity space, and whether social marketing messages can change that perception. We conducted six studies: a secondary data analysis with 5986 students, a field experiment with 188 students, and four lab experiments with 188, 251, 178, and 379 students. We find that students who strongly identify with their student community patronize a fast-food restaurant near school (vs. farther away) because they view it as their activity space, while students who weakly identify do not. For example, in our field experiment, 44% vs. 7% of students who strongly identified with the student community patronized the near versus farther restaurant, while only 28% versus 19% of students who weakly identified patronized the near and farther restaurants comparably. We also find that to deter the strong identifiers, messages should convey that patronage is a social liability, e.g., portray student activism against fast food. We show that standard health messages do not change perceptions of restaurants as social activity spaces. Thus, to combat the problem of fast-food restaurants near schools causing unhealthy consumption, policy and educational interventions should focus on students who strongly identify with their student community and find ways to weaken their perceptions that fast-food restaurants near schools are their activity spaces. Keywords: fast food proximity to school, identification with school, social marketing message

CITATION EXPORT

Brennan Davis, Cornelia Pechmann. When Students Patronize Fast-Food Restaurants near School: The Effects of Identification with the Student Community, Social Activity Spaces and Social Liability Interventions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. (2023). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054511

AUTHORS

2 · 2 CENTRES

Brennan Davis, Cornelia Pechmann

1Orfalea College of Business, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
2Paul Merage School of Business, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA