Emphasizing downside of drinking doesn’t persuade college students, experts say

"Trying to convince college students not to drink by emphasizing the downside of excessive drinking is ineffective, say researchers who recently presented their findings at the American Psychological Association Annual Meeting."

"When researchers used Breathalyzers to show college students their blood alcohol content, it had the opposite of the intended effect, encouraging them to drink more, said E. Scott Geller, Director of the Center for Applied Behavior Systems at Virginia Tech. 'We thought if we could demonstrate to students that their performance deteriorated under alcohol, they would be convinced that their alcohol consumption has put them at risk,' Geller told USA Today. 'Knowing that one is impaired, physically and even emotionally, did not seem to reduce alcohol consumption.' ...”

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