“You Know Nothing about How Alcohol Might Lead to Cancer!” Effects of Threatening and Hedging Languages on Intentions to Reduce and Stop Drinking

Alcohol causes cancer, but many alcohol consumers are not aware of this risk. Research is needed to identify effective communication strategies to increase risk perceptions and decrease alcohol consumption. This study examined the effects of threatening and hedging languages in communicating the cancer risk associated with alcohol use. Results from a between-subjects experiment (N = 584) revealed a significant interaction effect: Threatening language combined with lexical hedges led to a higher perceived threat to drinker identity competence, which predicted higher intentions to reduce and stop drinking. Moreover, threatening language increased perceived threat to freedom, predicting greater reactance and lower behavioral intentions. Lastly, hedging increased perceived message tentativeness, predicting lower risk perceptions and behavioral intentions. Implications of our study were discussed.