Drinking and Drinking and
Driving:
Use of Social Norms
Marketing in High Schools and College and Universities*
Dale O. Ritzel, Dan Shannon,
Donna Bernert, Dennis Leitner,
George Vineyard, Keith
White, and Jennifer Kampmeier
Safety Center
Carbondale, IL 62901-6731
*Sponsorship of Research
Office of the Illinois
Secretary of State
Illinois Department of
Transportation
High-risk drinking
For years, colleges and universities have invested in
alcohol awareness programs, peer education, and “alternative” recreational
activities, yet the % of high-risk drinking and drinking and driving has
continued at intolerable levels since the 1980s. After dropping significantly in the 1980s (at least for awhile),
when the legal drinking age was raised to 21 in all 50 states, the amount of
teen drinking has settled in at a rate many consider too high and a continuing
health hazard.
Fake
Ids and underage drinking, long a staple of the late teens, have been in the news
again since the 19 year old twin daughters of President George W. Bush, Jenna
and Barbara, had a brush with the law.
Some recent data
The average age that teens start drinking dropped from
18 in the mid-1960s to about 16 in the last part of the 1990s, research
suggests (SBMHSA). Those who start
drinking younger are more likely to become alcohol dependent (NIAAA). The rates of underage drinking declined
significantly in the 1980s and have remained relatively constant through the
1990s. Teen traffic deaths related to
alcohol dropped from 3,751 in 1990 to 2,273 in 1999 (NHTSA).
The current college scene
Many college officials are
now trying to re-engineer both the campus environment and the community in ways
that will discourage high-risk drinking.
Perceived Drinking Norms of College Students
College students take in all
kinds of information about what is typical or normative among their peers. What is seen as typical can then become what
is expected. Where students see lots of
students using alcohol, they may feel pressure to fit in by drinking. Maybe where they see fewer students
drinking, they feel less pressure and may drink less.
What is critical?
What are critical here is
not just the actual amount of alcohol consumption but students’ perceptions of
how much drinking is going on. These
perceptions are prone to error.
Researchers have found that, whatever the true level of campus high-risk
drinking, students tends to greatly overestimate the percentage of their peers
who engage in dangerous alcohol consumption.
Often the disparity between reality and perception is enormous.
Montana State University study (18-24 year olds)
Men reported 3 drinks per
occasion, but other men of their age have 7 drinks. Women reported have 2 drinks per occasion, but estimate peers
have 5 drinks. If college students
believe that most students drink heavily, then high-risk drinking rates may
rise in response. The more students who
believe that high-risk drinking is common, the more high-risk drinking will
actually occur.
Social Norms Approach
Inform students about how
much drinking is really going on, as opposed to what the students think is the
case. This truth may change students
perception of the norm, which in turn should lead to reductions in high-risk
drinking. The effort to get this
message out, using publicity events, student newspapers, posters, email
messages, and other campus-based media, is call a social norms marketing
campaign.
Some successful uses of Social Norm Marketing
Northern Illinois University. In 3 years high-risk
drinking rate went from 43% to 25%.
University of Arizona. In 2 years high-risk
drinking rate went from 43% to 31%.
Hobart and William Smith Colleges. In 18
months, 21% decline in high-risk drinking rates.
Social Norms in
Illinois – Drinking
From a study which is
published elsewhere in the journal and from information available for the
Southern Illinois University CORE project, we found the following information
about drinking and driving attitudes and behaviors of high school juniors and
seniors and college students in Illinois.
Six out of 10 high school and college students do not drink or rarely
ever drink alcohol. One half of high
school students average less than one drink per week. High school students
perceive that college students drink more than they do in reality. The majority of high school and college
students do not participate in binge drinking (5 or more drinks in a
setting). Eighty two percent of high school students
disapprove of binge drinking. Over 78%
of high school students felt that binge drinking even once was of moderate or
great risk. Most college men drink 0-4
drinks when they party. Most college
women drink 0-3 drinks when they party.
Social Norms in Illinois – Drinking and Driving
Again from the some two
sources listed above, we have found that high school juniors and seniors and
college students have the following attitudes and behaviors about drinking and
driving. More than 60% of high school
and college students report never drinking and driving during the previous
year. Forty percent of high school and
college students have never been passengers with someone who had been
drinking. Ninety one percent of college
students do not drive after having 5 or more drinks. Only 2% of college students are arrested fro DUI. Eighty five percent of college students
NEVER drive in an alcohol-impaired condition during the academic year. Sixty seven percent of high school students
reported not drinking and driving during the past 30 days. The vast majority of college students in
Illinois do not exceed the .08% BAC limit if they drink. Most college students (97%) disapprove of
drunkenness which interferes with responsibilities.
Social Norm Campaign- Some things that seem to work
Collect baseline data. It is important that you use current data on drinking and driving
practices of students for your message content. Many courses of data exist, including local, state and national
studies. Many colleges and universities
already gather local data with the CORE Survey (developed by Presley, et al.,
Southern Illinois University Carbondale).
Developing a message. Develop a message that highlights non-binge norms. Keep it simple. Tell the truth. Be
consistent. Highlight the norm of
moderation. Some good simple messages
that can be used include those listed in the Social Norms in Illinois –
Drinking and Social Norms in Illinois Drinking and Driving heading above. A good general (and true) message might be
“Most students are concerned about risks associated with alcohol and drinking
and driving and protect themselves by drinking moderately and not driving after
drinking.”
Ensuring credibility. Print material more believable than other media. Indicate source of data. Health professional more believable than
peer educators, friends, or other interpersonal sources. Use and cite scientific sources. Silly, satirical, cute, or juvenile formats
work against scientific integrity of message.
Local data are more credible than national data. Photographs of students (people who look
like students) attract more attention.
Delivering the message. Do print media – flyers and leaflets, posters, newspaper
advertisements, editorials, letters to the editor, articles, billboards, and
bulletin boards. Students who drink the
most are most likely to read alcohol information, ads, and flyers. Do pilot test of trying to reach the target
group.
Supporting Message Retention. Two of the most important factors include having simple content
and having good source credibility.
Frequency of exposure to the message is a third important factor. The message should be communicated in many
different forms. The same simple
message has to be heard over and over again in different forms of media on
different days. Reward people who
remember your message – like call in radio programs do.
Implications for College Administration
Do yearly alcohol/drinking
surveys. Make the information
public. Champion the positive norms
associated with the majority of students who drink responsibly. Students want a safe campus, no matter how
much they drink, and the vast majority will support social norms that reject
impaired driving, assault, date rape, and vandalism.