Marketing Campaign to Combat Student Drinking; ‘Reality Check’ Based on Survey Showing Exaggeration of Alcohol Use
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2000
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
Marketing Campaign to Combat Student Drinking; ‘Reality Check’ Based on Survey Showing Exaggeration of Alcohol Use
California State University, Chico is planning a marketing campaign this year to combat student alcohol abuse, based on recent survey results about drinking levels on campus.
Along with communicating the dangers of alcohol abuse, the “Reality Check” campaign will inform students that their classmates drink far less than they think, which experts say should curtail campus drinking in general.
A spring 2000 random sample survey of 1,192 CSU, Chico students found misconceptions about campus drinking: - 84 percent believed the average CSU, Chico student drinks three times a week or more, when in fact 40 percent said they drink that often. - 99 percent believed the average CSU, Chico student had engaged in high-risk drinking–five drinks or more in one sitting–at least once during the prior week, when in fact 59 percent said they had engaged in high-risk drinking at least once within the last two weeks.
A report published this month by CSU, Chico’s Campus Alcohol and Drug Education Center (CADEC) states, “National experts on college student drinking agree that students tend to drink to the level they assume others are drinking. Like students elsewhere, Chico State students’ over-estimations of their peers’ drinking habits may well elevate their own drinking.”
Student perceptions of drinking levels can significantly influence their behavior, said sociology professor Walt Schafer, former interim dean of the College of Behavior and Social Sciences, who has been asked by President Manuel Esteban to help assess and improve the university’s alcohol abuse prevention programs. “If people have misperceptions of what is normal social behavior, they act in ways consistent with their false views,” Schafer said. “But if people learn what is accurate information, their behavior can change.”
Schafer said other campuses have also found students’ estimations of student drinking levels were inflated. Subsequent marketing campaigns educating students about the true levels of drinking have been successful in reducing reported drinking, Schafer added.
Based on students surveyed, CSU, Chico students engage in high-risk drinking above the national average. The national average for college students engaging in high-risk drinking within a two-week period is 47 percent, compared to 59 percent among CSU, Chico students.
“Student drinking levels are a major concern,” said Shauna Quinn, director of CADEC. “But we are encouraged by the opportunity to reduce high-risk drinking with this marketing campaign.”
The Reality Check campaign will include posters, newspaper ads and e-mail announcements to students.
The campaign will be largely funded over three years by a generous gift by CSU, Chico alumna Nancy Hodges, in memory of her daughter.
In addition to the campaign, CADEC is also involved in many other activities to combat drug and alcohol abuse. Among its efforts are training peer counselors, hosting the Fun Without Alcohol Fair and mailing birthday cards to students turning 21 years of age, urging them to make smart choices regarding drugs and alcohol.
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