The social norms marketing approach has been used in a variety of contexts to alter problematic behaviors that are believed to occur at least in part as a consequence of misperceived norms. Behavior change occurs by correcting the misperception that leads some individuals to engage in non-normal behavior because they believe it to be normal. [...]
No one likes being told what to do. College students, especially, finding their independence for the first time, are not a fan of hearing what they should be doing. After all, everyone has the right to make a choice for themselves. So, it gets tricky when the choices we see students making turn out to [...]
A recent article in WSJ (yes, WSJ not an SSJ) includes using electronic media to share noms about drinking as a technique to reduce student drinking. Click here to read the article.
Who does well in groups where unhealthy behaviors are the norm? One frequent concern about the social norms approach is, “what if the majority of a population engages in the unhealthy behavior?” In social norms marketing, we believe that there’s always a positive norm that can be highlighted: for example, even if the majority of [...]
Cronce and Larimer, from the University of Washington, offer a review of the efficacy of individually-focused interventions to prevent risky drinking and associated negative consequences among college students. Title Individual-focused approaches to the prevention of college student drinking Abstract Alcohol consumption is prevalent among college students and can become problematic for some. Numerous randomized controlled trials have evaluated the efficacy [...]
One of the underlying principles of social norms marketing is expressed by PIE: messages should be Positive, Inclusive and Empowering. A study of social marketing to "...minimise the harm from alcohol consumption" suggests that many social marketing approaches may be patronizing rather than empowering. What messages does social marketing advertising send? A content analysis of advertisements aiming to [...]
This systematic review, published in Alcohol and Alcoholism, suggests that the internet is more effective than print-based interventions but less effective than face-to-face interventions for binge drinking among college students. The title links to the full article. The Use of the Internet for Prevention of Binge Drinking Among the College Population: A Systematic Review of [...]
Here's a summary of an interesting presentation slated for November 1, 2015, at the 143rd annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in Chicago: Background: Hispanic adolescents are at increased risk for alcohol use and binge drinking. Research is needed to more thoroughly understand the variables involved with such high rates of alcohol use. The present [...]
Here's some useful information about powdered alcohol (Palcohol) from Kristen Kidd Donovan, MPH, the very experienced Assistant Director of Substance Abuse Prevention for the Wellness Center at Virginia Commonwealth University: In an informal email, Kristen wrote: I spent some time this week wrapping my head around this problem, and I'm ready to cross it off [...]
This interesting small experiment randomly assigned 101 U.K. college students with excessive drinking to one of four conditions. In each condition, the students received one message a week for four weeks. The messages varied by condition: official alcohol consumption guidelines how their consumption compared to official guidelines how their consumption compared to the sample mean where their [...]
