This report describes the development of a program to reduce drinking on a college campus. The program combines student blood alcohol concentration (BAC) data with a social norms approach. The ultimate goal of the program is to reduce motor vehicle crashes resulting from driving after drinking, as well as other health and social problems that result from alcohol consumption by young persons in a university environment.
During the 1990s several national surveys documented that drinking is widespread among college students in the United States. These surveys and a number of other studies also documented a wide variety of undesirable consequences of student drinking. In addition to deaths and injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes, college students increase their risk of injury as pedestrians, in falls and in fires. Alcohol use also contributes to interpersonal violence, including sexual assault, and academic problems. Despite this, relatively little is known about student drinking and few programs to ameliorate drinking and its consequences have been evaluated.
To gain a clearer picture of student drinking on one university campus this project employed a unique approach: a nighttime survey in which randomly selected students provided breath samples that allowed measurement of their blood alcohol concentration. During the fall of 1997, BAC measurements were obtained from 1,786 students as they returned home to residence halls, fraternity and sorority houses and off-campus apartments between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.
By focusing on nightly drinking and using a direct measurement as an indication of amount of drinking, a somewhat different picture of student alcohol use emerged than is revealed by self-report surveys. Although 23% of students had been drinking, high BACs were relatively uncommon. Eleven percent of students had a BAC above .08 and less than 2% were above .15. Of particular note is that even on traditional "party nights," (Thursday through Saturday), 65% of students returned home with a .00 BAC.
Research has found that students overestimate the amount of drinking on college. Evidence of this misperception about the amount of drinking was found in the present study as well. Consequently, a program was developed that drew on findings from the BAC survey to help students recognize the reality of drinking on their campus. This "social norms" approach to drinking on college campuses has shown great promise for reducing excessive student drinking. This is the first time a norms program has been able to provide students with concrete information about drinking based on BAC measurements.
Through a series of discussions with students, a basic message was developed that was clear and easily understood by students: "Whether it’s Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night, 2 out of 3 UNC students return home with a .00 BAC." A comprehensive program was developed to deliver this message to students through several channels and to encourage them to remember it. The program focused initially on first year students who are just finding their "niche" on campus in hopes of preventing them from developing the same misperceptions about drinking that characterize older students.
This information about the true alcohol use "norm"was delivered directly to all incoming students and their parents at orientation sessions. In addition, it was delivered to the entire student population through an incentive campaign involving posters and stickers, and through a media plan. By displaying posters and stickers or by knowing the "2 out of 3" alcohol fact, students had a chance to win cash. A news conference spread the message throughout the campus community and beyond. Periodic ads in the student newspaper drew attention to both the normative fact and the incentive program.
The BAC survey was repeated during the fall of 1999. In addition to measuring student alcohol use again, information about awareness and understanding of the "2 out of 3" program was obtained from the sample of 2,535 students. Seventy-one percent of students and 92% of first year students were aware of the program. Among those who had heard of the program, 70% understood the fact to mean that drinking is less common or that pressure to drink is less than is typically believed. Understanding was also higher among first year students (78% vs. 64% of older students). However, a substantial proportion of students (54%) did not believe the "2 out of 3" fact accurately portrayed student drinking. This skepticism about a fact that goes counter to common belief was not unexpected, and will need to be addressed as the program continues. The skepticism may be another indicator of the widespread existence of misperceptions about college student drinking and reinforces the need for further research on programs designed to counter these misperceptions.
Analyses of the BAC measurements indicate that drinking has declined somewhat since the earlier survey. The proportion of students with a BAC above .08 declined from 10.7% to 8.3%, a statistically significant decline of 22%. Student incidents involving alcohol also declined in association with the "2 out of 3" program. However, self-reported drinking, as typically measured, did not change from the earlier survey.
It will require a sustained effort over several years to develop a thorough and accurate understanding of normative levels of alcohol use among students. It is clear, however, that there are a number of benefits of using BAC data rather than simple self-reports of drinking as the source of data for a normative information program. Apparently because of the simplicity of the message and the multi-faceted nature of the "2 out of 3" program, both awareness and understanding of this program were found to be high. The prevalence of heavier drinking has declined as well. Additional monitoring of student alcohol use will be necessary to assess the ultimate potential of a long-term BAC-based social norms campaign.