Artifact Critique Paper
After locating different artifact sources based on children’s mental health, I decided to focus my analysis on a brochure created by the organization Mental Health America. The brochure’s title is “Children’s Mental Health Matters''. This brochure was first published in 2014. The outside of the brochure features three different stories of children who are struggling with their mental health. Additionally, it lists Mental Health America’s organizational mission statement and contact information. The inside of the brochure discusses why the three stories on the front of the brochure are examples of children struggling with their mental health and the warning signs that a child may need to seek help for their mental health. Also, it highlights reasons that children’s mental wellbeing is important for their overall health. In total, the brochure features four images of children throughout the brochure.
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According to Borchers (2013), “persuaders use motivational appeals to produce some change in the values, beliefs, opinions, attitudes, and behaviors of audience members. A motivational appeal can also be viewed as the element of the message that signifies intensity, concern, or need.” I believe the dominant motivational appeal in the brochure is fear. Simpson (2017) explains that “use of the appeal to fear, in the form of threatening health messages, is commonly used as a strategy for changing behaviors within a population in relation to public health initiatives.” The motivational appeal of fear is found within the brochure when it discusses what may happen to a child if their mental health problems go unaddressed. Borchers (2013) explains that “a fear appeal describes a threat, indicates that audience members are likely to experience the threat, and indicates that one way audience members can avoid the threat is by adopting the message of the persuader.” Throughout the brochure, the threat of child mental health going unaddressed is discussed. Additionally, the brochure makes the threat seem relevant to readers by stating “As many as one in five children and adolescents may have a mental health problem that can be identified and treated. One in ten may have a problem so severe it interferes with their ability to function in school, at home and at play” (Mental Health America, 2014). I think that fear was selected as the dominant motivation appeal to really push the readers to recognize the importance of addressing child mental health concerns. I also believe that fear was selected as the dominant motivational appeal since this is a very serious topic. For example, the motivation appeal of humor would’ve been inappropriate for this campaign. I think that if the brochure would have selected a different motivational appeal, I do not believe that it would have been as effective for me as a reader to want to make a change!
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Overall, I believe that the appeal was effective. The brochure listed three stories of children that allows the audience to relate to the topic and comprehend the importance of the campaign. Additionally, the brochure discusses how children’s mental health is essential to their overall health and how parents take other physical concerns, such as a child breaking their arm, seriously. (Mental Health America, 2014) All of these things encouraged me, as a reader, to recognize the severity of the topic. I believe that the appeal was ethical since it listed concrete facts about child mental health and doesn’t over dramatize the statistics. Additionally, I liked how the brochure emphasized the importance of talking to a child’s doctor if readers believe their child may be showing signs of mental health concerns. (Mental Health America, 2014) This demonstrated that Mental Health America was not just trying to instill fear in their readers, but truly cares about getting children help. To produce a stronger appeal, I believe that the brochure should have included some of the long-term consequences that can arise if a child’s mental health concerns are not addressed early on. While this could invoke more fear from the readers, it would properly inform the readers of the full consequences of not addressing children’s mental health concerns. Additionally, I think that the brochure could have included a quote from a pediatric doctor or mental health professional on the importance of addressing children’s mental health! This would have provided readers with another reliable source when formulating an opinion on this campaign. Overall, I think that Mental Health America created a successful brochure that addresses the importance of children’s mental health.
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References:
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Borchers, T. A. (2013). Persuasion in the Media Age (Third). Waveland Press, Inc.
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Mental Health America. (2014). Children's Mental Health Matters. Alexandria, VA. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://mhanational.org/sites/default/files/BACKTOSCHOOL2014takealook.pdf
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Simpson, J. K. (2017). Appeal to fear in health care: Appropriate or inappropriate? Chiropractic & Manual Therapies, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12998-017-0157-8
