Research and Practice of Health Promotion, Volume 08: Prevention through Fear?

Volume 8 of the specialist booklet series "Research and Practice of Health Promotion" is an abridged version of an expert report on fear appeal research first published in 1998. It provides an overview of the current state of fear appeal research
in the field of health education and health promotion. The paper centres on the question as to the effects of fear appeals on health-related and preventive behaviour.

The authors first outline the theoretical reference framework by presenting existing constructs for explaining preventive behaviour and theoretical models relating to the effectiveness of fear appeals. They subsequently present effects of fear appeals on the basis of examples from the fields of drug prevention, AIDS prevention, dental hygiene and eating habits. Based on their analysis, the authors formulate recommendations for the design of preventing messages and information.

With this volume, the BZgA is presenting another contribution to quality assurance in health education and health promotion. The objective is to promote the professional exchange and the establishment of a consensus concerning suitable concepts and strategies for health promotion and prevention, and to constantly improve their quality.