Declining negative consequences related to alcohol misuse among students exposed to a social norms marketing intervention on a college campus

Abstract

Objective: The authors examined whether alcohol-related negative consequences decreased among students exposed to an intervention.

Participants: Beginning in 1999, approximately 2,500 randomly selected undergraduates from a 4-year US university annually participated in a Web-based survey over 6 years.

Methods: The educational intervention used social norms initiatives. Main outcome measures included recall of intervention, estimated blood alcohol content (eBAC) when drinking, and 10 negative consequences from alcohol within the past year.

Results: First-year students recalling exposure had lower odds of negative consequences (odds ratio [OR] = 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.64-0.95) and of having an eBAC higher than .08 (OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.62-0.92). Over the 6 study years, the odds among all participants of experiencing (a) none of 10 alcohol consequences nearly doubled (OR = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.82-2.49) and (b) multiple consequences decreased by more than half (OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.36-0.50).

Conclusions: These findings have important implications for US colleges and universities engaged in the reduction of harm associated with alcohol misuse.