ISSL Social Norms Program Update — August 2005

In April, 2005 we surveyed 3,600 students from

• Chaminade College Preparatory School
• Chesterfield Day School-St. Albans
• Crossroads School
• MICDS
• Nerinx Hall High School
• Saint Louis Priory School
• Thomas Jefferson School
• Villa Duchesne
• Visitation Academy
• Westminster Christian Academy

The students told us:

• The majority do not typically drink alcohol!
• Most are not smokers!
• They do not drink and drive!
• They prefer to date non-smokers!
• Their parents are their most believable source for alcohol information!

These independent high schools are collaborating with ISSL and experts from the National Social Norms Resource Center to launch an innovative campaign to further reduce alcohol use by students. The Social Norms Program is based on the theory that the more someone believes that others are engaged in a specific behavior and those others are in that individual’s “sphere of influence” the more likely they are to engage in the specific behavior. The theory suggests that over time there is an “accumulation of influence”, which states that an individual who believes his peers and contemporaries are “doing it”, they then become more likely to “do it”. Periodic verbal reinforcement among peers that they are engaging in a targeted behavior, even though such behavior is frequently exaggerated by their peers, contributes to this “accumulation”. This influence can be positive or negative. Examples of positive “social norms” are use of the seat belt and the reduction of littering. In both cases we know there are those who do litter and who don’t wear their seat belts, but because the message is marketed that most people do wear seat belts and few people litter we are less likely to litter and more likely to wear our seat belts.

The Social Norms Program does not target just the group whose behavior we are trying to modify, but those who influence the ones whose behavior we are trying to modify, which in the case of alcohol use among teenagers includes parents, teachers and the community at large. By providing all groups with what are the “real” facts, there is less pressure to engage in use. The program is also based on the premise of what we all know to be true; that in order to be perceived as unique and acquire attention young people have a tendency to exaggerate, and it is this “exaggeration” that influences young people to sometimes engage in negative and harmful behaviors. In the Social Norms Program misperceptions are made clear through accurate data, which is empirically based and specific to an identified community. The facts about a behavior, such as alcohol use among teenagers, are reported as facts and not in “general”. We could just as easily describe the Social Norms Program as a campaign to provide kids with the truth and reduce the exaggeration. We are attempting to make sure our kids know what the reality is and not what they perceive it to be by providing to our kids the truth about alcohol use among the kids in our schools.

The funding for this three-year program is provided by the community at large, private donations and from a generous grant from Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc., but monies are still needed to keep the program going. Please consider donating to this endeavor, which not only educates our kids, but can help reduce tragedy and potentially save lives.

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