Background
College and university administrators have consistently cited high-risk
drinking as the number-one substance abuse problem on campus. High-risk
drinking is a contributing factor in poor academic performance, property
damage, physical violence, unintentional injury, and the spread of sexually
transmitted infections.
Although high-risk drinking and its related negative consequences are a serious
problem at institutions of higher education and a key concern of school
administrators, few studies have examined the effectiveness of
environmentally-based prevention strategies. The persistence of this problem,
coupled with a lack of scientifically validated strategies, points to the need
for rigorous research to evaluate new programs and policies, particularly those
that are designed to reshape the physical, social, legal, and economic
environments in which students make decisions about their alcohol use.
Several colleges and universities have implemented social norms marketing
campaigns with promising results, some of which have seen 20 percent reductions
in high-risk drinking after just two years of campaign implementation.
How Social Norms Marketing Works: The Theory behind the Practice
Researchers have established that college students tend to grossly
overestimate the number of their peers who engage in high-risk alcohol
consumption. This misperception is believed to influence students to drink more
heavily by changing their perceptions of normative expectations (social norms)
around drinking. In other words, students may feel pressured to drink because
they believe that "everyone else is doing it."
The basic idea behind a social norms marketing campaign is to turn this dynamic
around by using campus-based media to inform students about the true levels of
alcohol consumption among their peers. The actual levels of alcohol consumption
among college students are much lower than students perceive them to be. Having
accurate information about college alcohol use is hypothesized to lead to
changes in perceptions of drinking norms on campus and, in turn, may lead to
fewer students engaging in high-risk drinking.
Campus media campaigns (such as newspaper ads, posters, flyers, electronic
bulletin boards, banners, carabineers, and radio ads) will feature positive
statistics about Dartmouth students which illustrate that most students make
low-risk choices with respect to alcohol consumption. A typical social norms
message would be "74% of Dartmouth drinkers have 0-4 drinks on the average
Friday night."
Dartmouth uses actual student-generated data collected by the Office of Evaluation and
Research. Students are invited to review the data and assist in creating
new messages. Those messages, in turn, are tested by Dartmouth students for
believability and interpretation. Finally, various marketing strategies are
employed to disseminate the social norms messages.
Benefits of the Campaign
A demonstrated reduction in alcohol consumption may, over time, improve
levels of academic performance and reduce instances of physical violence,
unintentional injury, littering, vandalism, and exposure to sexually
transmitted infections. By promoting student health and safety in this way, we
hope to see an improved atmosphere and learning environment on campus in
general.
The campaign will have a campus-wide impact. Involving a variety of
departments, offices, and student groups can strengthen connections and
relationships on our campus. This is an excellent opportunity for students,
faculty, staff, and administrators to work together to promote healthy and safe
behavior among students and to attempt to effect positive changes in our campus
community.
Students engaged in this ongoing project will have the opportunity to
develop leadership skills, work creatively, benefit from teamwork experience,
and make positive contributions to campus life.
What I Can do to Help
- Learn about the social norms approach to alcohol and other drug
prevention.
- Engage others in conversations about marketing strategies and
messages.
- Do not enable others to reinforce their misperceptions!
- Present students with reasonable alternatives to drinking on campus.
- Be a leader and get involved!
Resources
National Social Norms Resource Center --- www.socialnorm.org
The Report on Social Norms --- www.socialnormslink.com
Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention (Social Norms)
--- www.edc.org/hec/socialnorms/
National BACCHUS & GAMMA Peer Education Network --- www.bacchusgamma.org
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