Kathleen Custers | KU Leuven (original) (raw)

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Papers by Kathleen Custers

Communication Research, Mar 25, 2012

Even though sexual violence has become more prevalent on television and is the crime women fear m... more Even though sexual violence has become more prevalent on television and is the crime women fear most in real life, the association between viewing and fear of sexual violence has received scant attention. Structural equation modeling of data from a random sample of 546 Flemish women supported a model in which fear of sexual violence was predicted by perceived risk, perceived control, and perceived seriousness. Flemish crime drama viewing predicted higher perceived risk. This relationship was stronger in women with high socioeconomic status and in those with no direct experience with crime. This suggests that identification may be an important mediator. News viewing predicted lower perceived risk. It is hypothesized that the relative lack of exemplars in news and victim blaming gives viewers the impression that the risk of sexual victimization does not apply to them.

Studies in Communication | Media, 2012

The current study focused on a singular serial killer and rapist case which received a lot of med... more The current study focused on a singular serial killer and rapist case which received a lot of media attention in Belgium. We examined whether exposure to news about this case (case news exposure) was related to personal fear of sexual assault, altruistic fear of crime, and attitudes regarding young adolescents' safety (ATAGO-score) in a random sample of 1002 adults. Case news exposure was the strongest predictor of altruistic fear of crime and the second most important predictor of attitudes regarding young adolescents' going out (ATAGO-score), but it was not significantly related to personal fear of sexual assault in women. The barrage metaphor is proposed for the study of the effects of highly publicized news cases.

European Eating Disorders …, Jan 1, 2009

Objective: To examine the prevalence of visiting pro-anorexia websites by 13-, 15-and 17-year old... more Objective: To examine the prevalence of visiting pro-anorexia websites by 13-, 15-and 17-year old adolescents and to explore correlates of visiting such websites and predictors of anorexia nervosa (AN). Method: Questionnaire in a sample of 711 secondary school children from the 7th, 9th and 11th grade in Flanders, Belgium. Results: 12.6% of the girls and 5.9% of the boys had visited such websites. In girls, visiting pro-anorexia websites was associated with a higher drive for thinness, worse perception of appearance and more perfectionism. Conclusion: The prevalence of visiting pro-anorexia sites is non-trivial and the significant correlations between viewership of pro-ana sites and predictors of AN suggest a potential for negative impact of exposure to pro-ana sites. We conclude with some speculative remarks on the potential threat of the existence of pro-ana sites to organized health care.

The European Journal of Public …, Jan 1, 2010

Background: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widespread, even among peo... more Background: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widespread, even among people who use conventional medicine. Positive beliefs about CAM are common among physicians and medical students. Little is known about the beliefs regarding CAM among the general public. Among science students, belief in CAM was predicted by belief in the paranormal. Methods: In a crosssectional study, 712 randomly selected adults (>18 years old) responded to the CAM Health Belief Questionnaire (CHBQ) and a paranormal beliefs scale. Results: CAM beliefs were very prevalent in this sample of adult Flemish men and women. Zero-order correlations indicated that belief in CAM was associated with age (r = 0.173 P < 0.001) level of education (r = À0.079 P = 0.039) social desirability (r = À0.119 P = 0.002) and paranormal belief (r = 0.365 P < 0.001). In a multivariate model, two variables predicted CAM beliefs. Support for CAM increased with age (regression coefficient: 0.01; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.006 to 0.014), but the strongest relationship existed between support for CAM and beliefs in the paranormal. Paranormal beliefs accounted for 14% of the variance of the CAM beliefs (regression coefficient: 0.376; 95%: CI 0.30-0.44). The level of education (regression coefficient: 0.06; 95% CI: À0.014-0.129) and social desirability (regression coefficient: À0.023; 95% CI: À0.048-0.026) did not make a significant contribution to the explained variance (<0.1%, P = 0.867). Conclusion: Support of CAM was very prevalent in this Flemish adult population. CAM beliefs were strongly associated with paranormal beliefs.

The European Journal of Public …, Jan 1, 2009

Public health nutrition, Jan 1, 2010

Objective: To examine whether television viewing, computer game playing or book reading during me... more Objective: To examine whether television viewing, computer game playing or book reading during meals predicts meal skipping with the aim of watching television, playing computer games or reading books (media meal skipping). Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a standardized selfadministered questionnaire. Analyses were controlled for age, gender and BMI. Setting: Data were obtained from a random sample of adolescents in Flanders, Belgium. Subjects: Seven hundred and ten participants aged 12, 14 and 16 years. Results: Of the participants, 11?8 % skipped meals to watch television, 10?5 % skipped meals to play computer games and 8?2 % skipped meals to read books. Compared with those who did not use these media during meals, the risk of skipping meals in order to watch television was significantly higher for those children who watched television during meals (2?9 times higher in those who watched television during at least one meal a day). The risk of skipping meals for computer game playing was 9?5 times higher in those who played computer games weekly or more while eating, and the risk of meal skipping in order to read books was 22?9 times higher in those who read books during meals less than weekly. The more meals the respondents ate with the entire family, the less likely they were to skip meals to watch television. Conclusions: The use of media during meals predicts meal skipping for using that same medium. Family meals appear to be inversely related to meal skipping for television viewing.

Behavioral Sleep Medicine, Jan 1, 2011

This study examined whether the availability of the Internet and Television in the bedroom and ov... more This study examined whether the availability of the Internet and Television in the bedroom and overall internet use and Television viewing were related to sleep variables in a sample of 711 residents of Flanders. Even though the relationships were small, there was some evidence of time shifting: internet access in the bedroom predicted later bed time (β = .12, p < .05) and

Mass Communication & Society, Jan 1, 2011

status: published, Jan 1, 2008

Pro-anorexia websites are website suggesting that anorexia nervosa is a conscious lifestyle choic... more Pro-anorexia websites are website suggesting that anorexia nervosa is a conscious lifestyle choice rather than a disorder. In a sample of 711 students from the first, third and fifth school year in Flanders, Belgium, 12.6% of the girls and 5.9% of the boys had visited such websites. Visiting pro-anorexia websites was associated with higher drive for thinness, worse perception of appearance, more perfectionism and more fear of gaining weight, all potential predictors of developing anorexia nervosa. The paper concludes that on line ...

Poetics, Jan 1, 2011

Previous research on the relationship between television viewing and fear of crime has not paid m... more Previous research on the relationship between television viewing and fear of crime has not paid much attention to explanatory processes and has concentrated mainly on socio-demographic variables and direct experience. This study looked at personal risk perception and ability to cope as predictors of fear most likely to be influenced by the vivid images of violence presented on television. A random sample of 711 adults was queried about their media use, personal crime risk perception, perceived ability to cope, and fear of crime. ...

International Public Health …, Jan 1, 2011

The objective of this content analysis was to assess the depiction of health content in Flemish e... more The objective of this content analysis was to assess the depiction of health content in Flemish entertainment television programs. The quantity and context of health content messages was investigated in a sample of 266 program episodes which were recorded during one month. Based on theories and research, a number of context variables were assessed which may increase or inhibit risk perception and positive health behaviour. The results indicated that entertainment shows offered a steady diet of health content. Further, health messages were depicted in such a way that viewers are likely to learn that they are susceptible to the depicted health problems. In contrast, substantially less attention was devoted to depicting treatment and prevention options, which may inhibit viewers from taking positive health actions.

status: accepted, Jan 1, 2011

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