A Multifaceted Social Norms Approach to Reduce High-Risk Drinking Lessons from Hobart and William Smith Colleges H. Wesley Perkins, Ph.D., and David W. Craig, Ph.D. Hobart and William Smith Colleges A publication of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, with supplemental funding from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Acknowledgments We wish to thank writer Amy Powell for her work in preparing this publication. The case study is based on the March 2001 report, /HWS Alcohol Education Project Experiment: A Synergistic Application of the Social Norms Approach to Reduce Collegiate Problem Drinking/, by H. Wesley Perkins, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, and David W. Craig, Ph.D., Philip J. Moorad '28 and Margaret N. Moorad Professor of Science, at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York. The U.S. Department of Education funded the implementation of the campus intervention (Grant #S184H980041) and the analysis of the results and preparation of the dissemination report (Grant #P183A960126). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Contents * Preface * Introduction * Campus Snapshot * Existing Efforts to Address Alcohol and Other Drug Use * Drinking Behavior at Hobart and William Smith Colleges Profile for High-Risk Drinking Consequences of Alcohol Use at HWS * The Social Norms Approach and the HWS Project <#approach> Strategy and Goals * Components of the HWS Project Data Collection Print Media Campaigns Electronic Media Campaign Curriculum Development Campus Presentations, Staff Development, and Cocurricular Activities * What Are the Results? <#results> Linking Success to the Social Norms Approach Was Project Information Received by Students? Were There Changes in Students' Perceptions About Alcohol Use? Affecting the Transition to College Broader Changes in Student Drinking Behavior Changes in the Consequences of Alcohol Use at HWS * Conclusion * Notes * Resources * Appendix * Center Publications ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Preface The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention was established by the U.S. Department of Education in 1993 to assist institutions of higher education in developing and carrying out alcohol and other drug (AOD) prevention programs that will promote campus and community safety and help nurture students' academic and social development. To accomplish this mission, the Center seeks to increase the capacity of postsecondary institutions to develop, implement, and evaluate programs and policies that are built around environmental management strategies. Environmental management means moving beyond general awareness and other education programs to identify and change those factors in the physical, social, legal, and economic environment that promote or abet alcohol and other drug problems. Clearly, stemming the use of alcohol and other drugs is not something that college administrators alone can achieve. Top administrators, especially presidents, must exercise leadership, but their success will depend ultimately on their ability to build a strong coalition of both on-campus and community interests. The better AOD prevention programs are campuswide efforts that involve as many parts of the college as possible, including students, staff, and faculty. For this reason, the Center emphasizes team-focused training and technical assistance work. Building coalitions with local community leaders is also key. College campuses do not exist in isolation. AOD prevention planners need to collaborate with local leaders to limit student access to alcohol, prevent intoxication, and support the efforts of local law enforcement. The Center therefore seeks to motivate and train academic leaders to work with local community representatives, while also joining with national organizations that urge local coalitions to increase their outreach to academic institutions. Specific Center objectives include promoting (1) college presidential leadership on AOD issues; (2) formation of AOD task forces that include community representation; (3) reform of campus AOD policies and programs; (4) a broad reexamination of campus conditions, including academic standards and requirements, the campus infrastructure, and the academic calendar; (5) formation of campus-community coalitions that focus on environmental change strategies; and (6) the participation of individuals from the higher education community in state-level and other associations that focus on public policy. The Center also seeks to increase the capacity of colleges and universities to conduct ongoing process and outcome evaluations of AOD prevention activities, both on campus and in the surrounding community. This publication represents one piece in a comprehensive approach to AOD prevention at institutions of higher education. The concepts and approaches it describes should be viewed in the broader context of prevention theory and the approaches affirmed by the U.S. Department of Education and promoted by the Center in its training, technical assistance, publication, and evaluation activities. For information on Center services, please contact: The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Education Development Center, Inc. 55 Chapel Street Newton, MA 02458-1060 Tel.: (800) 676-1730 Fax: (617) 928-1537 Web site: http://www.higheredcenter.org/ E-mail: HigherEdCtr@edc.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Introduction High-risk drinking and its related consequences remain a serious problem at institutions of higher education and a key concern of college and university leaders. While there are no easy solutions for these issues, an increasing number of campuses are exploring a social norms approach to addressing alcohol and other drug (AOD) use. This strategy works on the premise that misperceived norms-perceptions that usually exaggerate what is typical for other students-lead to increased drinking behavior as students attempt to conform to what they believe "everyone else" is doing. Therefore, effectively informing students of actual drinking norms should reduce student drinking. In the 1980s, Hobart and William Smith Colleges (HWS) conducted the first studies linking students' misperceptions of their peers' actual alcohol use to personal drinking behavior.^1 Further research at colleges and universities throughout the United States confirmed the existence of widespread misperceptions of drinking norms^2 and the powerful effect of perceptions on personal alcohol misuse.^3 A theory explaining the causes and consequences of these misperceptions was also put forth, along with the prediction that reducing misperceptions could reduce actual high-risk drinking behavior on campus.^4 Various colleges and universities began implementing strategies to reduce misperceptions, with notable success, based on this theory of social norms.^5, 6, 7 Could this social norms approach be effective at a college such as HWS? In addition to students' misperceptions of their peers' drinking, HWS has traditions, demographics, and a campus setting that contribute to relatively high rates of actual high-risk drinking. Even in contexts where heavy drinking is prevalent, however, the majority of students still drink alcohol moderately. At the same time, the drinking norm perceived by students continues to be higher than their peers' actual drinking behavior. The social norms approach, therefore, could still lower high-risk drinking at HWS by reducing misperceptions about students' alcohol use. Supported by a Drug and Violence Prevention Programs in Higher Education grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Alcohol Education Project (the HWS Project) began in the late fall of 1996 to test the social norms approach on the campus. The goal was to see if communicating accurate norms about actual student drinking behavior could produce substantial positive effects on alcohol use. The project's strategy was to initiate a comprehensive social norms campaign combining data collection, traditional print media, electronic media, curriculum development, and cocurricular activities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Campus Snapshot Hobart William and Smith Colleges Hobart and William Smith Colleges (HWS) is an undergraduate liberal arts institution of higher education with approximately 1,800 students and 135 faculty. Hobart, the men's college, and William Smith, the women's college, share a single faculty, campus grounds, academic classes, facilities, provost, and president of the institution. Male and female students (approximately equal in number) maintain separate student governments and athletics programs, however, and are supervised by separate dean's offices. More than 95 percent of HWS students are single and between 17 and 24 years old, and more than 95 percent have moved away from their families to attend college. More than two-thirds of the members of the entering class each year have been involved in a varsity sport during their senior year in high school and more than one-third expect to play an intercollegiate sport. Ten to 15 percent of the members of each entering class are students of color. More than 85 percent of students live in on-campus housing, including both single-sex and coeducational residence halls of varying sizes, small cooperatives, theme houses, and fraternities (there are no sororities at HWS). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Existing Efforts to Address Alcohol and Other Drug Use HWS has long offered many services to prevent alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems and address AOD issues. Prevention offerings include substance-free housing, alcohol-free social activities, wellness programs, workshops on drug abuse for athletics teams and resident students, discussions of AOD-related issues, and alcohol awareness programs that address the secondary effects of use on campus (e.g., sexual assault, vandalism). Treatment services include support groups, individual counseling, and an employee assistance program for staff. To monitor campus AOD policies, there is a review board composed of administrators, faculty, health educators, the head of security, medical services staff, and students. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Drinking Behavior at Hobart and William Smith Colleges Profile for High-Risk Drinking National research^8,9 suggests that heavy alcohol use is more prevalent at institutions of higher education with the following characteristics: * Northeastern region of the United States, where abstinence rates among students are far below and heavy drinking is far above the national norm * Smaller schools with fewer graduate students to moderate the social atmosphere on campus * Predominantly single, 17- to 24- year-old undergraduate students attending four-year institutions * Schools with predominantly on- campus residential environments * Student populations with low religious interests and participation * Mostly Caucasian student body * Schools where athletics participation is a prominent interest among students * Presence of Greek social organizations The sociodemographic characteristics of Hobart and William Smith Colleges and its students match all of these high-risk factors. Additionally, data from the nationally conducted Freshman Survey10 have shown that, with each entering class, the percentage of HWS first-year students who drank beer during their last year of high school was consistently higher than the national average. Therefore, this institution, along with many other undergraduate colleges sharing these characteristics (especially those in the Northeast, where consumption is highest), remains on the "front line" of student high-risk drinking. Consequences of Alcohol Use at HWS Even with prevention and treatment efforts in place, alcohol use and its associated problems among students remained disturbingly high at HWS before the social norms approach was applied. A campuswide survey in 1995 found that 89 percent of students typically drank alcohol during the average week and that 55 percent of students were frequent heavy drinkers (often drinking five or more drinks in a row). More than one-quarter of the students responding reported that someone else's drinking had interfered with their studies, sleep, or other aspects of their lives almost every week. As a direct result of their own drinking during the academic year, 25 percent of students experienced injuries to themselves, 9 percent had injured another person, 6 percent admitted attempting sexual contact unwanted by another person, 17 percent engaged in unprotected sexual activity, 21 percent reported some form of fighting, and 19 percent had committed property damage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Social Norms Approach and the HWS Project Given the institution's demographic profile and concomitant high level of alcohol use and related problems, new prevention initiatives were clearly needed. The HWS Project developed a plan to introduce a social norms marketing campaign that could be added to the campus's existing prevention and treatment offerings. Strategy and Goals The HWS Project's strategy was to implement a comprehensive set of initiatives to reduce harmful misperceptions about norms for drinking behavior among HWS students. The objective was to create an integrated academic and social climate in which students would more accurately understand peer disapproval of alcohol abuse and in which more responsible conversations about drinking would take place. A more responsible public conversation would include discussions of the relative prevalence of moderation, the acceptability of abstinence among a significant minority of students, recognition that most students avoid consumption leading to negative consequences, and less exaggerated talk about heavy drinking. The expectation was that the level of actual high-risk drinking among students would decrease significantly as a result. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Components of the HWS Project The HWS Project had five activity categories: (1) data collection; (2) print media campaigns; (3) electronic media campaign; (4) curriculum development; and (5) campus presentations, staff development, and cocurricular activities. These components worked in concert to create a comprehensive initiative to influence perceptions of social norms regarding alcohol use among students and, in turn, reduce actual high-risk drinking behavior. For a complete timeline and listing of the HWS Project activities, please see appendix A. Data Collection A successful social norms marketing effort must be preceded by careful research about the actual norms of the community. For many years, HWS had been collecting data on alcohol use and perceived norms. This information provided the project with a "before" snapshot of actual and perceived drinking behavior and peer attitudes on campus. Existing data collection procedures continued under the HWS Project, supplemented by new surveys implemented as part of the social norms initiative. To ensure that the campaign and its messages had credibility with the students, project staff collected information in a consistent manner that included as many student responses as possible through first-year entrance surveys, representative in-class surveys, random-sample mail surveys, and senior exit surveys. Every HWS student had the opportunity to participate in at least two surveys as they entered and exited; most students are included in at least one additional survey during their undergraduate experience. The data collection would ultimately serve two purposes. First, the data would determine the content and tone of the social norms messages that the HWS Project could deliver to the campus community. Second, the survey results would provide a way to measure the project's progress in reducing harmful misperceptions and actual high-risk drinking and its resulting consequences. Figure 1: Campaign Poster Print Media Campaigns Using the data collected, the HWS Project created posters and print ads featuring messages about the actual drinking norms on campus. These messages portrayed a reality that was far more moderate than the students' perceptions of their peers' attitudes about alcohol and its use (see figure 1). The project produced three series of posters and ads: (1) the Silent Numbers campaign, (2) the Reality Check series, and (3) the Healthy Choices Are on the Rise campaign, as well as several individual posters. Each campaign had a distinct communication goal and was based on data collected from students. Display cases in both academic and residential buildings regularly featured the project's posters. The project reinforced the posters' messages with advertisement-style versions of these visuals for the campus newspaper, The Herald. At least one project ad typically ran in The Herald each week. The ads were also used strategically following alcohol-related incidents on campus. These placements intended to show that the majority of HWS students do not drink in ways that lead to such consequences. Please see pages 8-12 for details and visual examples from each print media campaign. Figure 2: "Campus Factoids" column* The HWS Project reinforced the messages of these print media campaigns by creating The Herald's "Campus Factoids" column, which was introduced as an ongoing feature that presents information on a range of topics, including current social issues, academic successes of students, and demographics of incoming students (see figure 2). To attract as many readers as possible, the column offers a mix of serious, disturbing, and humorous facts. As part of the project's efforts, "Campus Factoids" incorporated information about student alcohol and other drug use into its weekly list of facts. Using this popular feature to highlight survey findings allowed the project to influence further the campus community's awareness and perceptions of drinking behavior. The Silent Numbers Campaign The goal of this campaign was to communicate to the campus that a majority of students consumes alcohol moderately or not at all, while a minority engages in high-risk drinking. The HWS Project wanted to create a political divide between the heaviest drinkers and the moderate drinkers/abstainers so that students in the latter group would be able to resist heavy drinking and to speak out against it and its negative effects. To create this political divide, the project introduced a campus mystery about the meaning of the equation "2/3 = 1/4." The mystery generated a great deal of conversation and speculation. Following a saturation media campaign using posters and the campus newspaper that slowly revealed clues about the equation's meaning, the answer was revealed: two-thirds of HWS students drink only one-fourth of the alcohol consumed, based on student survey data of drinking practices. Follow-up posters and ads featured a graphic of this skewed distribution and other related data from student surveys. Electronic Media Campaign Even the most compelling message will miss its target audience unless channels of communication are chosen carefully and intentionally. At HWS, print media strategies would miss community members whose on-campus routines did not include passing by poster displays or reading the campus newspaper. The HWS Project, therefore, worked with the campus computer network to conduct an electronic media campaign to communicate accurate information about student drinking behavior. The Reality Check Series A second HWS Project print media offering was the Reality Check series of posters and ads. The goal of this effort was to dispel myths and misperceptions about student drinking behaviors. Each poster featured a myth about students and alcohol, countered with facts from the student survey results. To keep the myths and corresponding facts in front of the campus community, display cases and the campus newspaper featured posters and ads continually. An electronic media campaign offered the project several advantages. First, using computer technology would bring project messages directly to the desktops of students, faculty, and staff throughout the campus. Second, electronic distribution of information would minimize printing and production costs for the project. Third, electronic media would offer the options of video, sound, and interactive features that print media lack. This variety of presentations could appeal to and connect with audiences that may not respond to traditional print information. Finally, computer technology would allow staff to track more accurately the number of community members who accessed information related to the project. The project's electronic media campaign had three offerings: (1) a screen saver, (2) an interactive, multimedia program, and (3) a Web site. These computer-based offerings incorporated information and images from the data collection and print media efforts, thus expanding the project's reach. Screen Saver A screen saver program that displayed a rotating series of facts and images from other project activities was created and installed on every student-accessed college-owned computer and on many faculty and staff computers as well. All factoids from the newspapers, including messages related to actual student alcohol use, appeared on the screen whenever a computer was idle. This campaign offering increased the distribution of the project's data findings and accurate information about social norms on campus. Interactive, Multimedia Program Based on the popular "Campus Factoids" newspaper column, an interactive, multimedia computer program, Campus Factoids^TM , gave the campus community access to a database of information, video clips, and online discussions related to alcohol and other drug use as well as other topics.11 Students and staff were able to search the database by subject and to view project posters and video clips featuring information relevant to the requested topic. Users could also post reactions to facts and engage in online discussions related to the messages presented (see figures 3 and 4). Posters and promotional mouse pads encouraged the HWS community to use this interactive program. HWS Project Web Site The project created a Web site to provide general information on alcohol and other drugs, the social norms approach, project activities, and findings. The Web site offered students, faculty, and staff yet another channel to receive accurate information about student alcohol use. The Healthy Choices Are on the Rise Campaign The final print media campaign for the HWS Project was the Healthy Choices Are on the Rise series. The goal of this effort was to show the reductions in harmful and risky behavior. Featured findings from student surveys included increases in the number of students who never missed classes or engaged in risky sexual behavior due to drinking. The Healthy Choices campaign encouraged students to be part of the growing number who formed the majority and not to feel pressured by misperceptions about drinking behavior at HWS. Curriculum Development To meet the goal of creating a more integrated social and academic climate at HWS, the project staff knew that their efforts needed to reach into the classroom. Curriculum development activities included a survey of faculty regarding the current AOD-related content in curricula, the purchase of books and videos for the campus library, the enhancement of a model interdisciplinary course on alcohol use and abuse, and the delivery of educational workshops for faculty and for student-teachers to facilitate discussion of AOD issues and social norms with their students. The project's curriculum development activities and the other aspects of the social norms effort worked to support and promote each other. For example, the project's Web site featured a listing of the books and videos purchased for the library to support integrating AOD discussions into classroom instruction. Additionally, full documentation for the interdisciplinary course on alcohol use and abuse is available on this Web site. The curriculum development efforts also fed several of the project's other offerings. Students in the alcohol use and abuse course helped to design and administer a campuswide survey on alcohol norms. They also produced many of the video clips used in the Campus Factoids^TM computer program and created some of the print media campaign's poster displays. In many ways, this core group of students became deliverers of the social norms prevention strategy at HWS. The classroom activities taught these students the design, delivery, and assessment principles that they in turn applied on campus. Creating independent study research opportunities further enhanced student learning and involvement; these academic offerings produced new resources for the electronic media campaign, additional applications of survey data, and a strategy proposal for using the social norms approach for tobacco use prevention. Campus Presentations, Staff Development, and Cocurricular Activities The project also used campus lectures, staff development, and cocurricular activities to influence campus norms regarding alcohol use. The goals of these offerings were to expand the conversations about alcohol and community norms and to coordinate efforts across various HWS offices by involving students, faculty, and staff in a variety of campus life settings. Presentations in residence halls, evening lectures, departmental research seminars, and orientation sessions supplemented the other project efforts to reach students. Each of these presentations was designed to reduce the harmful misperceptions that students have and to engage students in conversations about community norms. Novelty items such as cups, sports bottles, Frisbees, and highlighter pens containing social norms messages were distributed at several of these events as well as in other campus social contexts (see figure 5). Additionally, project staff made presentations to groups such as the Joint Deans' Staff, faculty luncheon gatherings, Board of Trustees, and Parents Executive Committee in order to reduce misperceptions of campus norms among these important decision-makers at HWS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ What Are the Results? Data gathered before and during the HWS Project were essential for measuring the impact of the initiative. In their evaluation, project staff used student surveys to determine if campaign messages were received, if students' misperceptions of social norms were reduced, and if actual high-risk drinking behavior had declined since the beginning of the social norms efforts. Linking Success to the Social Norms Approach Attempting to connect changes in perceptions and use of alcohol to a specific prevention program can be difficult and should be approached with caution. The HWS Project, however, offers strong evidence of its positive impact on campus. From 1995 through 1999, no other new alcohol education or prevention efforts began at HWS. Any significant change, therefore, in campus alcohol use during this period could be linked strongly to project interventions. Additionally, the project's evaluation efforts included multiple evaluation techniques; pre- and posttest data; reliable response rates; responses gathered with consistent methods over time from a large, representative number of students; and analyses that incorporated demographic controls and rigorous statistical tests of significance. Was Project Information Received by Students? If efforts to reduce misperceptions were going to produce more accurately perceived norms and in turn reduce high-risk drinking, students must receive messages and facts about actual rates of alcohol use and abuse on campus. One aspect of the project's evaluation, therefore, was to determine if students were significantly exposed to its efforts. By demonstrating that many students noticed and received campaign information, the connection of the project to positive outcomes could be strengthened. Additionally, data showing that students had received the intended messages also informed the project about compelling messages and effective means of delivering information to students. Surveys of graduating HWS seniors showed that about 75 percent had read the "Campus Factoids" column in the campus newspaper at least once during the previous year; approximately 50 percent had read it more than once. For the class of 1997, 34 percent had logged onto the online interactive program based on "Campus Factoids"; by the time the class of 1999 was surveyed, that number had grown to 61 percent. By the end of the 1999 fall term, online Campus Factoids^TM had been accessed and viewed more than 6,000 times on a campus with a student population of 1,800. From this evaluation, project staff determined that students were noticing and being exposed to the initiative's messages and information. Additionally, these data helped shape the ongoing work of the project by informing staff about how students were receiving information and what new efforts might best promote student attention to the social norms campaign. Please see figure 6 and table 1 for further data on the HWS Electronic Media Campaign Exposure. Figure 6: HWS Electronic Media Campaign Exposure, 1997 to 2000 Table 1: HWS Electronic Media Program Use, 1999 to 2000 Were There Changes in Students' Perceptions About Alcohol Use? Changes in a social environment often do not happen quickly, and they can lead to changes in drinking behavior that are evident only with the passage of time. The HWS Project, however, demonstrated that a social norms campaign, when delivered intensively, can produce positive effects in a relatively short amount of time. Surveys of students in introductory classes (primarily first- and second-year students, with relatively few juniors and seniors) conducted in fall 1996 (prior to the campaign) and again in the fall of 1997 and 1998 (after the campaign was introduced) showed the following changes: * A 21 percent decrease in students' perception of the number of heavy (five or more drinks) drinkers on campus * A 64 percent increase in students' perception of the number of abstainers on campus Reductions ranging from 8 to 13 percent in the perceived average number of drinks consumed by various student constituencies and by students in general at residence hall gatherings and at parties and bars Students responding to these surveys had been exposed to less than one year of the social norms campaign (the exceptions were the few juniors and seniors who responded; they had received less than two years of exposure to social norms messages). The HWS Project results indicate, therefore, that substantial reductions in misperceptions were produced in a fairly short time frame. For more detailed data from these student surveys, please see table 2. Table 2: Perceived and Actual Drinking Norms Among Students Before and After Social Norms Intervention With the social norms efforts in place, changes in students' perceptions continued to occur over time. The HWS Project conducted a survey of a representative cross section of students each spring in 1995, 1998, and 2000. Data were collected with identical procedures in each survey year. A return-mail survey was used, combining a stratified random sample with an additional quota sample selected from all students. These longer-term survey results revealed the following five-year changes: * A 41 percent increase in the number of students who correctly perceived the campus drinking norm as moderate * A 39 percent decrease in the number of students who incorrectly perceived their peers to be permissive of high-risk drinking For more detailed data from the 1995-2000 surveys, please see table 3. Affecting the Transition to College Counselors and health educators often point to the first few months on campus as a particularly vulnerable time for increases in high-risk drinking among first-year students. Students arrive at college already holding exaggerated perceptions of heavy drinking on campus that create pressure on them to conform to these erroneous stereotypes. Thus, dispelling myths and reducing these misperceptions among new students was an important objective for the HWS Project. Prior to the beginning of the social norms efforts, 42.9 percent of first-year students arriving at HWS reported that they consumed five or more drinks at parties while in high school; after two months at college, heavy drinking among first-year students increased to 53.5 percent. Once the HWS Project was in place, first-year students experienced the social norms campaign's message throughout their orientation sessions and their first eight weeks at HWS. This intensive exposure was associated with a positive impact on drinking behavior during these students' transition to campus life. Almost 42 percent of students arriving at HWS from 1997-99 reported that they had consumed five or more drinks at parties prior to attending college. After two months on campus, however, heavy drinking among these first-year students was only 2.5 percent higher (at 44.3 percent)- one-fourth the increase observed among students prior to the project's efforts (see figure 7). Perceived Norms Versus Personal Attitudes Data collected by the HWS Project show that student attitudes about drinking were virtually identical before and after the social norms efforts. This does not mean that the project was ineffective. In fact, changing personal attitudes was not a goal of the social norms approach. Most students have relatively moderate attitudes toward alcohol -more than 85 percent believe that students should not drink to an intoxicating level that affects academic work or other responsibilities. The problem was that most students did not realize this attitude was normative among their peers. The exaggerated perceptions of what was the normative drinking attitude among their peers pushed some students to drink in excess of what their own attitudes would otherwise lead them to do. This is an important distinction to make for the HWS Project and for other social norms efforts. While personal attitudes about alcohol remain steady, changes in students' perceptions of drinking norms affect actual drinking behavior on campus. Broader Changes in Student Drinking Behavior As students' misperceptions about their peers' use of alcohol were reduced, actual drinking behavior at HWS also declined. Surveys of students in introductory classes conducted in fall 1997 and fall 1998 showed the following changes in students' alcohol use when compared with fall 1996 surveys (before exposure to social norms efforts): * An 18 percent decrease in the average number of drinks consumed by each student at "get togethers" in residence halls * A 17 percent decrease in the percentage of students consuming five or more drinks in a row on a weekly basis A 14 percent decrease in the average number of drinks consumed by each student at parties and/or bars For more details on these results, please see table 2 <#table2>. As perceptions of peer norms became more accurate over time, the actual drinking behavior continued to decline. From 1995 to 2000, the following changes in the frequency and quantity of student drinking occurred, based on random sample surveys of the entire campus conducted in the spring: * An 18 percent decrease in the frequency of student drinking in a two-week period * A 30 percent decrease in frequent heavy drinking (five or more drinks in a row, three or more times a week) in a two- week period A 22 percent decrease in the average number of drinks consumed in a typical week For more details from the 1995-2000 surveys, please see tables 3 and 4 and figure 8. Table 3: Changing Perceptions of Norms for Drinking Attitudes and Quantity of Use, 1995 to 2000 Figure 7: Two-Month Intervention Impact on High-Risk Drinking in Transition to College Changes in the Consequences of Alcohol Use at HWS In surveying students from 1995 to 2000 based on representative campuswide samples, the HWS Project asked students to self-report the negative consequences they had experienced as a result of their own drinking. The survey offered a list of possible effects, including physical injury, fighting, damage to property, missing class and other academic problems, unprotected sexual activity, and impaired driving. Comparing 1995 and 1998 (after 18 months of social norms intervention), sizeable and statistically significant declines were observed in property damage, missed classes, inefficiency in work, unprotected sex, and memory loss. Over the course of the entire academic year, experiencing at least two problems as a result of drinking was quite commonplace in 1995. About 65 percent of female students and 75 percent of male students fell into this category. In 2000, comparable figures were down markedly to less than 50 percent of women and down slightly to 70 percent of men (see table 5). In addition to student survey data regarding negative consequences, the project considered arrest data from the HWS Office of Campus Safety. From 1997 to 2000, the number of students arrested for alcohol violations declined sharply and consistently over this four-year period. (The HWS Office of Campus Safety reported no major changes in procedures for recording arrests during this time period.) This information reinforced the picture of a decline in alcohol-related problems during the course of the social norms project (see figure 9). Table 4: Personal Drinking Attitudes and Frequency and Quantity of Alcohol Use, 1995 to 2000 Figure 8: Over time, as students' misperceptions of drinking norms are reduced, actual drinking behavior among students becomes more moderate. Figure 8: Perceived and Actual Norms (Means) for Number of Drinks Consumed, 1995 to 2000 Table 5: Rates of Change (1995 to 1998) in Negative Consequences of Drinking the Academic Year Figure 9: Arrests of HWS Students for Liquor Law Violations, 1997 to 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conclusion The HWS Project provides further evidence for the effectiveness of social norms efforts to reduce high-risk drinking and associated problems at colleges and universities, even at institutions where sociodemographic contexts traditionally present the highest levels of alcohol consumption among student populations. Certainly schools with more demographically diverse populations that afford greater abstinence and moderation can deliver an even stronger message of normative moderation in reducing misperceptions and can use the approach and techniques provided in this model program to do so. As HWS and other institutions continue to test this approach, more information will be forthcoming, describing ways to adapt this strategy in various contexts and to integrate it with other prevention strategies as part of a comprehensive effort to address alcohol and other drug abuse on campuses. In addition, colleges and universities will learn more about the influences of social norms on student alcohol use and the impact of correcting perceived norms on efforts to change risky behaviors and prevent problems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Notes 1 Perkins HW, Berkowitz AD. Perceiving the community norms of alcohol use among students: Some research implications for campus alcohol education programming. International Journal of the Addictions. 21: 961-976, 1986. 2 Perkins HW, Meilman P, Leichliter JS, Cashin JR, Presley C. Misperceptions of the norms for the frequency of alcohol and other drug use on college campuses. Journal of American College Health. 47: 253-258, 1999. 3 Perkins HW, Wechsler H. Variation in perceived college drinking norms and its impact on alcohol abuse: A nationwide study. Journal of Drug Issues. 26: 961-974, 1996. 4 Perkins HW. College student misperceptions of alcohol and other drug norms among peers: Exploring causes, consequences, and implications for prevention programs. Designing Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Programs in Higher Education: Bringing Theory into Practice (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, 1997): 177-206. 5 Haines M. A Social Norms Approach to Preventing Binge Drinking at Colleges and Universities (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, 1997). 6 Johannessen K, Collins C, Mills-Novoa B, Glider P. A Practical Guide to Alcohol Abuse Prevention: A Campus Case Study in Implementing Social Norms and Environmental Management Approaches (Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona, Campus Health Service, 1999). 7 Haines M, Spear SF. Changing the perception of the norm: A strategy to decrease binge drinking among college students. Journal of American College Health. 45: 134-140, 1996. 8 Presley CA, Meilman PW, Cashin JR. Alcohol and Drugs on American College Campuses: Use, Consequences, and Perceptions of the Campus Environment, Volume IV: 1992-1994 (Carbondale, Ill.: The Core Institute, 1996). 9 Wechsler H, Dowdall G, Davenport A, Castillo S. Correlates of college student binge drinking. American Journal of Public Health. 85: 921-926, 1995. 10 Sax LJ, Astin AW, Korn WS, Mahoney KM. The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 1999 (Cooperative Institutional Research Program, American Council on Education, University of California, Los Angeles, 1999). 11 Although incorporated into the HWS Project, this program was developed independently of the grant funding the social norms approach. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Resources The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. The U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention assists institutions of higher education nationwide in developing, implementing, and evaluating alcohol and other drug (AOD) prevention policies and programs that will foster students' academic and social development and promote campus and community safety. In addition to a wide variety of programs, the Center also publishes AOD prevention materials, including Social Marketing Strategies for Campus Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems; A Social Norms Approach to Preventing Binge Drinking at Colleges and Universities; and A Practical Guide to Alcohol Abuse Prevention: A Campus Case Study in Implementing Social Norms and Environmental Management Approaches. In addition, the Center hosts a Social Norms and Social Marketing Web page at http://www.higheredcenter.org/ . The HWS Alcohol Education Project. More information and examples from the HWS Project are available at http://alcohol.hws.edu. National Social Norms Resource Center. *The National Social Norms Resource Center supports, promotes, and provides technical assistance in the application of the social norms approach to a broad range of health, safety, and social justice issues, including alcohol-related risk reduction and the prevention of tobacco abuse. The center is directed by Michael Haines, a nationally recognized proponent and pioneering practitioner of this effective strategy. The center is sponsored by the BACCHUS and GAMMA Peer Education Network, a leading student health and safety organization serving college and university students. For more information, visit www.socialnorm.org . Social Norms Quarterly. This newsletter, edited by Alan Berkowitz, Ph.D., and published by PaperClip Communications, features regular columns on current research and theory, specific model programs and practices, implementation strategies, and resources, as well as an editorial page that addresses current issues and controversies. To subscribe, call (973) 546-3097 or visit www.paper-clip.com . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Center Publications The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention The following is a partial list of publications available from the Center. To receive a complete list, call us at (800) 676-1730 or check our Web site at http://www.higheredcenter.org/ to download copies of most of our publications or to place an order for print versions. * Environmental Management: A Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Alcohol and Other Drug Use on College Campuses (38 pp.) * Setting and Improving Policies for Reducing Alcohol and Other Drug Problems on Campus (50 pp.) * Be Vocal, Be Visible, Be Visionary: Recommendations for College and University Presidents on Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention (A Report from the Presidents Leadership Group (58 pp.) * Complying with the Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Regulations (34 CFR Part 86): A Guide for University and College Administrators (36 pp.) * College Alcohol Risk Assessment Guide: Environmental Approaches to Prevention (103 pp.) * Social Marketing Strategies for Campus Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems (32 pp.) * A Social Norms Approach to Preventing Binge Drinking at Colleges and Universities (32 pp.) * A Practical Guide to Alcohol Abuse Prevention: A Campus Case Study in Implementing Social Norms and Environmental Management Approaches (38 pp.) * Understanding Evaluation: The Way to Better Prevention Programs (98 pp.) * Selecting the Right Tool: A Compendium of Alcohol and Other Drug Assessment and Evaluation Instruments for Use in Higher Education (37 pp.) * Preventing Alcohol-Related Problems on Campus: Acquaintance Rape (74 pp.) * Making the Link: Faculty and Prevention (30 pp.) *Fact Sheets/Prevention Updates* These 2- and 4-page flyers make great handouts for task force or coalition meetings, trainings, conferences, and classrooms! * "Campus-Community Coalitions in AOD Prevention" * "Campuses and the Club Drug Ecstasy" * "College Academic Performance and Alcohol and Other Drug Use" * "College Athletes and Alcohol and Other Drug Use" * "Faculty Involvement in AOD Prevention" * "Fraternity and Sorority Members and Alcohol and Other Drug Use" * "Getting Started on Campus: Tips for New AOD Coordinators" * "Higher Education Amendments" * "How to Select a Program Evaluator" * "Interpersonal Violence and Alcohol and Other Drug Use" * "Marijuana Use Among Students at Institutions of Higher Education" * "Parental Notification" * "Planning Campus Events" * "Racial and Ethnic Differences in Alcohol and Other Drug Use" * "Responsible Hospitality Service" * "Sexual Assault and Alcohol and Other Drug Use" * "Social Marketing for Prevention" * "Stadium Alcohol Management" * "Student Leadership in AOD Prevention" For further information contact: The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention http://www.higheredcenter.org/ (800) 676-1730 Fax: (617) 928-1537 HigherEdCtr@edc.org This publication has been funded in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education under contract number ED-99-CO-0094. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.