A Multisite Randomized Trial of Social Norms Marketing Campaigns to Reduce College Student Drinking

DeJong, William; Schneider, Shari Kessel; Towvim, Laura Gomberg; Murphy, Melissa J.; Doerr, Emily E.; Simonsen, Neal; Mason, Karen; Scribner, Richard

doi:10.15288/jsa.2006.67.868

Cited by 226 publications

(165 citation statements)

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“…The risk for excessive 21st birthday drinking, however, is not restricted to those with a history of problematic drinking, and therefore broader approaches such as social norms marketing (DeJong et al, 2006; but see Toomey, Lenk, & Wagenaar, 2007) or alternative birthday celebrations warrant further study. In addition, larger community-based environmental interventions such as dramshop liability laws and server/manager training should be considered (Toomey et al, 2007).…”

Section: Implications For Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

21st birthday drinking: Extremely extreme.

Rutledge

Park

Sher

2008

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

108

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Despite public recognition of the hazards of 21st birthday drinking, there is little empirical information concerning its prevalence, severity, and risk factors. Data from a sample of 2,518 college students suggest that 21st birthday drinking poses an extreme danger: (a) 4 of every 5 participants (83%) reported drinking to celebrate, (b) birthday drinkers indicated high levels of consumption, (c) 12% of birthday drinkers (men and women) reported consuming 21 drinks, and (d) about half of birthday drinkers exceeded their prior maximum number of drinks. Current problematic alcohol involvement and its typical correlates strongly predicted both the occurrence and severity of 21st birthday drinking. It is imperative that investigators consider a variety of potential interventions to minimize the harm associated with this rite of passage. Keywords 21st birthday; legal drinking age; alcohol use; college students Drinking among young adults, particularly those in college, is an important public health issue (e.g., Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, 2005). From an array of risky collegiate drinking practices, hazardous drinking associated with the 21st birthday has emerged as a major concern for college administrators, student health service professionals, and public officials (e.g., American College Health Association, 2002). Furthermore, media reports have highlighted the problem by describing practices such as "21 for 21" and the "power hour" and by reporting the tragic deaths due to these risky practices (e.g., Zernike, 2005). Nevertheless, despite increased awareness of the problem, the prevalence and severity of and risk factors for 21st birthday drinking are not well characterized.We have identified only three published studies on this topic (Neighbors, Oster-Aaland, Bergstrom, & Lewis, 2006;Neighbors, Spieker, Oster-Aaland, Lewis, & Bergstrom, 2005;Smith, Bogle, Talbott, Grant, & Castillo, 2006). These studies provided preliminary evidence that a majority of 21st birthday celebrants consume alcohol and that their drinking levels are alarmingly high; however, these findings are limited by ascertainment biases of unknown magnitude resulting from low participation rates, 1 and it is likely that the prevalence and severity of birthday drinking are underestimated in these studies. In the present study we extend what is known about alcohol consumption on the 21st birthday by using data from a large prospective study of college drinking. Our first goal was to estimate the prevalence and severity of 21st birthday drinking in a large sample with high participation rates. In addition, our study examined the existence of the "21 for 21" phenomenon reported by the media. Our second goal was to examine risk factors associated with the occurrence and intensity of 21st birthday drinking. Although a range of possible variables could be considered, we elected to focus on those variables most consistently associated with drinking in college students (e.g., Jackson, Sher, & Park, 2006), including demographics, high-risk...

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Section: Implications For Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

21st birthday drinking: Extremely extreme.

Rutledge

Park

Sher

2008

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

108

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“…Recently, interventions that seek to correct students' misperceptions about the alcohol use of their peers have emerged. These interventions, using the social norms approach to college drinking (Perkins, 2003), appear promising and have resulted in significant reductions in heavy episodic alcohol consumption and alcohol consequences at a number of institutions across the country (e.g., DeJong et al, 2006;Neighbors, Larimer, & Lewis, 2004;Perkins & Craig, 2006).Social influences are among the strongest and most consistent predictors of heavy drinking in the college environment (Borsari & Carey, 2003;Perkins, 2002). The social norms approach to college drinking asserts that misperceptions of how members of one's social group think and act (incorrectly perceived norms) influence behavior (Perkins & Berkowitz, 1986).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Live interactive group-specific normative feedback reduces misperceptions and drinking in college students: A randomized cluster trial.

LaBrie

Hummer

Neighbors

et al. 2008

Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

105

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This research evaluated the efficacy of a live and interactive group-specific normative feedback intervention designed to correct misperceptions of alcohol-related group norms and subsequently reduce drinking behavior. Campus organizations (N = 20) containing 1,162 college students were randomly assigned to intervention or assessment-only control conditions. Participants in the intervention condition attended an intervention during their organization's regular standing meeting. Data were gathered in vivo using computerized handheld keypads into which participants entered personal responses to a series of alcohol-related questions assessing perceptions of normative group behavior as well as actual individual behavior. These data were then immediately presented in graphical form to illustrate discrepancies between perceived and actual behavioral group norms. Results indicated that compared with the control group, the intervention group reduced drinking behavior and misperceptions of group norms at 1-month and 2-month followups. Changes in perceived norms mediated the reductions in drinking. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of a novel, technologically advanced, group-based, brief alcohol intervention that can be implemented with entire groups at relatively low cost. Keywords NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptIn response to the multitude of negative consequences resulting from heavy drinking (Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, 2005;Wechsler, Lee, Kuo, & Lee, 2000), many college campuses in the United States have initiated individual and group-based interventions with student drinkers (Larimer, Cronce, Lee, & Kilmer, 2004). Recently, interventions that seek to correct students' misperceptions about the alcohol use of their peers have emerged. These interventions, using the social norms approach to college drinking (Perkins, 2003), appear promising and have resulted in significant reductions in heavy episodic alcohol consumption and alcohol consequences at a number of institutions across the country (e.g., DeJong et al., 2006;Neighbors, Larimer, & Lewis, 2004;Perkins & Craig, 2006).Social influences are among the strongest and most consistent predictors of heavy drinking in the college environment (Borsari & Carey, 2003;Perkins, 2002). The social norms approach to college drinking asserts that misperceptions of how members of one's social group think and act (incorrectly perceived norms) influence behavior (Perkins & Berkowitz, 1986). During college, peers influence alcohol use both directly (i.e., explicit suggestions to drink) and indirectly (i.e., perceived norms). Overestimations of heavy drinking may increase drinking, whereas underestimations of abstinence or moderate drinking may discourage individuals from engaging in those healthier behaviors. A recent study of college students (N = 76,145) revealed that they consistently held exaggerated misperceptions of school drinking norms, regardless of the actual school norm (Perkins, Haines, & Rice, 2005). Thus, p...

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“…Furthermore, there is some evidence in favor of the effectiveness of social norm interventions (DeJong et al, 2006;Mattern and Neighbors, 2004;Perkins and Craig, 2006), although not all interventions have proven successful Clapp et al, 2003;DeJong et al, 2009;Thombs and Hamilton, 2002;Wechsler et al, 2003).…”

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confidence: 99%

Heavy Episodic Drinking and Alcohol Consumption in French Colleges: The Role of Perceived Social Norms

França

Dautzenberg

Reynaud

2009

Alcoholism Clin & Exp Res

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Background: The effect of normative perceptions (social norms) on heavy episodic drinking (HED) behavior is well known in the U.S. college setting, but little work is available in other cultural contexts. The objective of this study is therefore to assess whether social norms of alcohol use are related to HED in France, taking account of other influential predictors.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 731 second-year university students in the Paris region to explore the role of 29 potential alcohol use risk factors. The probability of heavy episodic drinking and the frequency of HED among heavy episodic drinkers were modeled independently. Monthly alcohol consumption was also assessed.Results: Of the students, 56% overestimate peer student prevalence of HED (37% for alcohol drinking prevalence). HED frequency rises with perceived peer student prevalence of HED. Other social norms associated with HED are perceived friends' approval of HED (increasing both HED probability and HED frequency) and perceived friend prevalence of alcohol drinking (increasing HED probability only). Cannabis and tobacco use, academic discipline, gender, and the number of friends are also identified as being associated with HED.Conclusions: Overestimation of peer student prevalence is not uncommon among French university students. Furthermore, perceived peer student prevalence of HED is linked to HED frequency, even after adjusting for other correlates. Interventions correcting misperceived prevalences of HED among peer students have therefore the potential to reduce the frequency of HED in this population.

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A Multisite Randomized Trial of Social Norms Marketing Campaigns to Reduce College Student Drinking

Cited by 226 publications

References 0 publications

21st birthday drinking: Extremely extreme.

21st birthday drinking: Extremely extreme.

Live interactive group-specific normative feedback reduces misperceptions and drinking in college students: A randomized cluster trial.

Heavy Episodic Drinking and Alcohol Consumption in French Colleges: The Role of Perceived Social Norms

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