Can the social norms approach be used in other than university or college settings?
Yes. In Illinois, a DeKalb County Partnership (DCP/SAFE) intervention, begun in 1998, continues to deliver positive normative alcohol and tobacco messages targeted to local high school students with documented success. Most notably, in two years it has achieved a 14% reduction in the incidence of heavy episodic alcohol consumption. This project is currently being replicated in the Evanston (Illinois) Township High School, which has reported significant reductions in both alcohol and cigarette use. Community and statewide interventions have been undertaken as well. Among the most notable of these is the Montana Social Norms Project’s MOST of Us Are Tobacco Free social norms marketing campaign that targeted youth between the ages of 12 and 17 in seven western Montana counties. Post-test data in this campaign revealed that only 10% of teens in the campaign area reported first time cigarette use as compared to 17% of teens in a control sample from the 49 counties in the rest of the state.
