California State University, Chico (CSU Chico)

Social Norming and Breath Sampling: Preventing High-Risk Drinking Among First-Year University Students

Project Description

Located in Chico City, California (population: 55,407), California State University, Chico (CSU Chico) is a predominantly undergraduate university with approximately 16,000 students. The campus is primarily residential and is part of the 23-campus California State University system.

This two-year project, initiated in fall 2001, is intended to reduce total alcohol consumption, high-risk drinking, and alcohol-related negative consequences among first-year students. The project is designed to accomplish these outcomes by blending two components:

  1. The "Did You Know?" campaign is a social marketing effort intended to correct students' over-perceptions of other students' drinking. This social norming campaign targets the campus as a whole with particular focus on freshmen.
  2. The "Wanna Know?" campaign includes voluntary, anonymous interviews and breath testing (n= 1440/year for 2 years), with immediate feedback of blood alcohol level and communication of social norming messages, among a random sample of first-year students returning to their residences on a random sample of weekend nights (Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays) between 10:30 pm and 2:30 am. The 4-5 minute interviews are conducted by trained students working in 3 teams, each with an emergency room registered nurse who administers the breath tests. The teams are located along commonly-used routes as students return to residence halls and apartment complexes. Random sampling is carried out by selecting the first student crossing a line at the top of each 5-minute interval. When groups of students go by, selection is rotated among the person closest to the interviewers, the second closest next time, third closest next time, etc.

Project Funding Source

The project is funded by:

  • California State University, Chico
  • A grant from the U.S. Department of Education

Project Goals and Objectives

The long-term goals of the project are to reduce total alcohol use, high-risk consumption, and negative consequences of alcohol use among first-year students at CSU Chico.

Outcome objectives are to decrease, among first-year students, the average number of drinks per week, the rate of high-risk drinking (5 or more drinks at a sitting at least once during the last 2 weeks), and the proportion of first-year students who report experiencing each of 19 negative consequences of alcohol use during the past year. Other objectives are to reduce the rate of alcohol-related disciplinary referrals from residence halls, calls for emergency medical services, and number of ambulance transports. The project also seeks to increase the accuracy of first-year student's beliefs about drinking among other students and to reduce tolerance for other students' high-risk drinking. It is predicted that students who have participated in the "Wanna Know?" interviews/breath tests will demonstrate greater positive changes than those exposed only to the "Did You Know?" campaign.

Key Baseline Data

Data from the short-form Core Survey indicated that in spring 2000, 82% of first-year students reported consuming alcohol at least once during the last 30 days. First-year students reported averaging 10.07 drinks per week, with 67% reporting drinking 5 or more drinks at a sitting at least once within the last 2 weeks, and 41% reporting such high-risk drinking 3 or more times within the last 2 weeks.

Primary Normative Messages

The primary normatives messages developed thus far are:

  • Most Chico State students (56%) consume 0-5 drinks per week.
  • Six of ten Chico State students (60%) drink 0-2 days per week.
  • Most Chico State students (51%) consume 4 or fewer drinks at off-campus parties--or don't drink there at all.
  • At Chico State, "A" students drink half as many drinks per week (average=5.6) as "C" students (average 11.2).
  • Most Chico State students who party avoid drinking games.

Marketing Methods Employed

The following campus-wide social marketing channels are used:

  • Weekly ads in the campus newspaper
  • Posters on bulletin boards
  • Screen-savers and mouse pads in campus computer labs

First-year students are especially targeted with:

  • Messages at summer orientation
  • Pre-arrival letters from campus administrators
  • Posters in their rooms upon arrival, and
  • Social-norming brochures given to participants in the "Wanna Know?" interviews/breath tests

Gift certificates are given to a random sample of residence hall students with posters in their rooms.

T-shirts or water bottles are given "Wanna Know?" participants.

Evaluation

Evaluation is conducted by Duerr Evaluation Resources, an independent, for-profit sub-contractor. The outcome evaluation includes tracking over the two years of the project:

  • Self-reported number of drinks per week
  • Self-reported frequency of high-risk drinking (5 or more drinks at a sitting within last 2 weeks)
  • Nineteen harmful consequences of alcohol and drugs
  • Number of referrals by residence halls for university disciplinary action due to violation of residence hall alcohol rules
  • Number of calls by residence halls for alcohol-related emergency medical services
  • Number of ambulance transports from the residence halls to the hospital for alcohol-related problems
  • Perceptions of frequency and amount of alcohol consumption among other students
  • Number of drinks considered to be "Okay" and "Too many" when CSU Chico students party

These variables are measured with the Core Institute's Short-Form Drug and Alcohol Survey and its Campus Survey of Alcohol and Other Drug Norms. These surveys, including several supplementary questions, are administered to a random sample of all CSU, Chico students in alternative years. Random sampling is accomplished by randomly sampling classes where the surveys are then administered. Data from first-year students are analyzed separately for the purposes of this project. Records from the campus' housing office provide data on student disciplinary action and emergency calls.

Formative evaluation includes documenting project activities, conducting focus groups of first-year students, and documenting other campus alcohol-abuse prevention activities that might, in a confounding way, influence measured outcomes.

Project Results

Results from the social norming and interview/breath testing projects will be known in fall 2003, after the two-year project evaluation is complete.

Project Director

Walt Schafer, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology
California State University, Chico
Chico, CA 95928-0445
Tel (530) 343-6857
[email protected]

NOTE: The "Did You Know?" campaign is conducted in partnership with CSU Chico's Campus Alcohol and Drug Education Center, directed by:

Shauna Quinn
Tel (530) 898-6450
[email protected]

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