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Change Social Norms: Introduction

Strategies and Approaches to Change Social Norms

  1. Correct Misperceptions

  2. Pressure Television and Radio Broadcasters

  3. Restrict Alcohol Sales at Community Youth Events

  4. Promote Alcohol-Free Events

  5. Educate and Work with Retailers

What Communities Can Do

What Parents Can Do

What Agencies Can Do

What Schools Can Do

Strategies & Approaches › Change Social Norms › Promote Alcohol-Free Events

Promote Alcohol-Free Events

Many high school and college students say that they attend parties or go out drinking because "there is nothing else to do." Like older adults, adolescents and young adults enjoy socializing and need a variety of avenues to interact with peers, make new friends, and pursue romantic relationships. In the absence of alcohol-free places to socialize, young people go to parties where alcohol is present, and may succumb to peer pressure to drink. By promoting social, recreational, extracurricular, and public service options that do not include alcohol, students are given the opportunity to socialize in an alcohol-free environment.

Issue
 Youth attend parties or go out drinking because there is nothing else to do.

Strategy

Pennsylvania State University now allocates more than $110,000 a year for alcohol-free activities scheduled from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekend nights, including first-run movies, hypnotist shows, ballroom-dancing lessons, and concerts. The school has seen attendance at these events more than triple, to 24,000 students a semester, in just 2 years.

References:
Underage Drinking Prevention Action Guide and Planner. 2001. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Available at: http://media.shs.net/prevline/pdfs/phd858.pdf#search=%22underage%20drinking%20prevention%20action%20guide%20and%20planner%22. Accessed on [08/25/06]

Hahn-Smith, S. & Springer, F. 2005. Social Norms Theory. Prevention Tactics 8:9. Center for Applied Research Solutions. Available at:  http://www.ca-cpi.org/Publications/Prevention_Tactics/Host%20Resonsiblility[1].pdf. Accessed on [09/09/06]

Hahn-Smith, S. & Springer, F. 2005. Social Norms Theory. Prevention Tactics 8:9. Center for Applied Research Solutions. Available at:  http://www.ca-cpi.org/Publications/Prevention_Tactics/Host%20Resonsiblility[1].pdf. Accessed on [09/08/06]

National Social Norms Resource Center. Available at: http://www.socialnorms.org/CaseStudies/alcohol.php. Accessed on [09/08/06]

A Campus Case Study in Implementing Social Norms and Environmental Management Approaches. 1999. The University of Arizona Campus Health Service.

Underage Drinking in California: California Town Hall Meetings. Community Prevention Institute. March, 2006.

National Social Norms Resource Center. Available at:  http://www.socialnorms.org/CaseStudies/evanston.php. Accessed on [09/08/06]

Underage Drinking Prevention Action Guide and Planner. 2001. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Available at: http://media.shs.net/prevline/pdfs/phd858.pdf#search=%22underage%20drinking%20prevention%20action%20guide%20and%20planner%22. Accessed on [08/25/06]

Underage Drinking Prevention Action Guide and Planner. 2001. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Available at: http://media.shs.net/prevline/pdfs/phd858.pdf#search=%22underage%20drinking%20prevention%20action%20guide%20and%20planner%22. Accessed on [08/25/06]

Underage Drinking Prevention Action Guide and Planner. 2001. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Available at: http://media.shs.net/prevline/pdfs/phd858.pdf#search=%22underage%20drinking%20prevention%20action%20guide%20and%20planner%22. Accessed on [08/25/06]

Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. 2005. Alcohol Industry Responsibility Advertising on Television, 2001to 2003. Available at: http://camy.org/research/responsibility2005/responsibility2005.pdf. Accessed on [08/29/06]

Alcohol Restrictions at Community Events. Alcohol Epidemiology Program. University of Minnesota. Available at: http://www.epi.umn.edu/alcohol/policy/atevents.shtm. Accessed on [08/29/06]

Wagenaar AC, Harwood EM, Toomey TL, Denk CE, Zander KM. 2000. Public opinion on alcohol policies in the United States: Results from a national survey. Journal of Public Health Policy, 21(3):303-27.

Environmental Strategies to Prevent Alcohol Problems on College Campuses. 2005. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Available at: http://www.udetc.org/documents/EnviroStrat.pdf#search=%22strategies%20to%20promote%20alcohol%20free%20events%22. Accessed on [08/29/06]
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