Wechsler H, Nelson TF, Lee JE, Seibring M, Lewis C and Keeling RP
Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 64(4): 484-494, July 2003

Finding an effective method of discouraging alcohol abuse has become an important goal for college administrators. In recent years, social norms marketing, which offers a positive approach to promoting optimal behavior among students, has become popular. Empirical support for such programs, however, is severely limited by methodological flaws. This study represents the first national evaluation of social norms marketing campaigns using generally accepted research methods. The authors drew data from the 1997, 1999 and 2001 College Alcohol Study (CAS) surveys of students at 120 accredited four-year colleges and universities from throughout the United States, as well as from a 2001 survey of administrators from schools participating in the CAS. The CAS includes a number of measures of student drinking behavior, including general alcohol use and experience of drunkenness, while the administrator survey asks whether their school "ever conducted a 'social-norms' campaign to decrease alcohol use and related problems on campus." Of the 118 schools sampled, 57 had implemented a social norms campaign, but the authors' analysis consistently indicates that there was no drop in drinking behavior among the schools that did. Indeed, in two of the five drinking measures, the authors observed significant increases. The authors suggest that college administrators and health educators should base their prevention programs on scientific evidence instead of the perception of promise.

Associated Grant ID: College Alcohol Studies