Evaluation Of A Social Norms Marketing Campaign To Reduce High-Risk Drinking At The University Of Mississippi - .Statistical Data Included - )

American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, May, 2001 by Laura Gomberg, Shari Kessel Schneider, William DeJong

Table 3. Correct Perceptions of Drinking by Survey Administration

                                             Pretest      Posttest 1
                                              (%)(a)        (%)(a)

Over half of students do not binge
   drink.                                      23.5          28.2
Almost 2/3 (67%) of college students
   report that they have never missed a
   class due to alcohol use.                   22.1          24.4
More than 75% of students have not
   used alcohol three or more times this
   week.                                       20.3          30.2
Over half of college students drink less
   than once per week.                          6.2          14.4
Students with an "A" grade average
   drink less than 3 drinks per week.          23.9          35.7

                                            Posttest 2     [chi](b)
                                              (%)(a)       (df = 2)

Over half of students do not binge
   drink.                                      31.6        11.29(c)
Almost 2/3 (67%) of college students
   report that they have never missed a
   class due to alcohol use.                   27.3        6.86(c)
More than 75% of students have not
   used alcohol three or more times this
   week.                                       35.2        38.97(d)
Over half of college students drink less
   than once per week.                         15.1        30.31(c)
Students with an "A" grade average
   drink less than 3 drinks per week.          43.4        59.47(c)

Note: The JTF Survey as administered in September 1994 (pretest),
November 1994 (posttest 1), and April 1995 (posttest 2).

(a) Indicates proportion of students correctly responding that the
statement is "true."

(b) Chi-square test comparing pretest and posttest 2.

(c) p < .01.

(d) p < .05.

For all three surveys, a greater proportion of males than females correctly perceived the high-risk drinking norm, but the difference by gender was significant only for the first posttest (32.2% of males versus 25.2% of females; [Chi-square] = 6.11, df = 2, p [is less than] .05). For men, the percentage of students who correctly believed that high-risk drinking is not the norm increased from 27.0% at the pretest to 32.7% at the second posttest, although this increase was not significant ([Chi-square] = 2.43, df = 2, p [is greater than] .05). For women, it increased significantly, from 21.0% at the pretest to 30.8% at the second posttest ([Chi-square] = 9.43, df = 2, p [is less than] .01). This shift in perceptions occurred concurrently with the decrease in alcohol consumption among both men and women (see Fig. 1).

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Exposure to the Just the Facts Campaign

Logo recognition was used to assess exposure to the JTF campaign. Reported recognition of the JTF logo increased significantly, from 6.2% at the pretest to 55.4% at the first posttest and 78.5% at the second posttest (comparing pretest to posttest 2, [Chi-square] = 782.73, df = 2, p [is less than] .001). Neither gender nor high-risk drinking status was associated with recognition of the JTF logo at either the pretest or first posttest. At the second posttest, however, significantly fewer high-risk drinkers (72.6%) recognized the logo compared to low-risk drinkers (82.3%) ([Chi-square] = 6.37, df = 2, p [is less than] .05).