Is News Surveillance Related to Cancer Knowledge in Underserved Adults? Testing Three Versions of the Cognitive Mediation Model

Abstract

The cognitive mediation model (CMM) proposes indirect paths to news learning such that news surveillance increases news learning through attention to the news and elaboration about the news. But there is a need for additional research that tests key postulates of the CMM especially for media targeting underserved populations. The present study tested three versions of the CMM to model ethnic newspaper learning within a low-income, Spanish-speaking population (N = 150). The original CMM was not supported by the data as elaboration was not related to knowledge; however, a simplified version of the CMM (surveillance → attention → knowledge) was supported. Moreover, a serial mediation model that included a measure of health maven was supported such that news surveillance was positively related to knowledge through maven-ness and attention.