Believe it or not: Examining to the emergence of new drinking norms in college

This paper examines the impact of a six-month social norms marketing intervention designed to reduce alcohol use among students attending a small, private university. Analyses of baseline and follow-up data are presented as well as data dosage and saturation levels of the norm marketing campaign and on student reactions to the social norm marketing messages. Results indicate that little change in student alcohol use or perception of drinking norms occurred following the social norms intervention. A gender effect was noted in the analysis with female students experiencing declines in alcohol use. Barriers to program success particularly with regards to the perceived believability of the social norm messages are discussed.