Substance abuse prevention program in a multicultural high school in Hawaii: A "social norms" approach

This study investigated the effectiveness of a school-based “social norms” intervention in reducing or preventing alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) use among 10th graders in a high-risk multicultural high school in Hawaii. The intervention was designed to reduce or prevent ATOD use by altering misperceptions about normative peer behaviors that, in turn, may promote substance use via social influence processes. Prior to the intervention, survey data indicated that students enrolled in the targeted school perceived significantly greater ATOD use among their schoolmates than that which is actually used by schoolmates. The “social norms” intervention, the “Know Better” media campaign, was developed to alter this misperception by publicizing ATOD prevalence rates in posters, banners, give-aways, and announcements, resulting in daily student exposure to the media campaign. A survey designed to assess students' ATOD use and perceptions was administered to 130 consenting students before the intervention and again nine weeks later. Analyses of pre- and posttest survey data showed that, while ATOD use did not decrease significantly, participants perceived significantly less ATOD use among their schoolmates nine weeks after the start of the intervention. “Social norms” interventions are designed to influence the normative environment with the longer-term objective to influence behavioral change. Our findings suggested that the “social norms” intervention was effective in altering the normative environment for ATOD use by significantly reducing students' misperceptions of ATOD use among schoolmates and suggest the potential effectiveness of a “social norms” approach in reducing or preventing ATOD use among youth in schools.