Dr. Faith Yingling Dr. Terry L. Rentner Director, Wellness Connection Professor, School of Media & Communication

Bowling Green State University

Changing the Campus Culture: Strategies in Moving Toward a Campus Mandated Alcohol Policy

Outcomes

1.Participants will gain an understanding of how the use of multiple research instruments, with a focus on AlcoholEdu, can better inform the development of a strategic plan

2.Participants will be able to develop short- and long-term goals for changing the campus culture

3. Participants will be able to develop strategies that will help their campus move toward mandated alcohol policies

AbstractTwo of the most difficult challenges college campuses have in reducing high-risk drinking --changing the campus culture and mandating alcohol education policies

Findings from AlcoholEdu, NCHA-ACHA surveys, the MIPH Community Readiness Survey, and social norms programs to strategically move toward mandated alcohol policies and change the way students view alcohol on campus

Develop short- and long-term measurable outcomes involving policy, procedures, infrastructure, enforcement, and social norms programming

Context: CommunityWood County is home to Bowling Green State University

BGSU has a great relationship with the Wood County ADAMHS Board

Community Readiness = Planning Stage – setting foundation for Implementation

AlcoholEdu for College2012/2013 Executive Summary

Bowling Green State UniversityMarch 2013

AlcoholEduI. A profile of Bowling Green State University Students'

Drinking Behavior» What are the drinking behaviors of students before they arrive

on campus?» How often, where, when and why do your first-year students

drink?» How do your students compare to students nationally?» What is the impact of high-risk drinking on your students?

II. Mitigating Risk and Impacting Culture» What did your students gain from taking AlcoholEdu?» How can your campus engage students to change the drinking

culture?

III. Implications for Your Institution's Prevention Strategy» How can these data inform your prevention efforts moving

forward?

Major FindingsFindings are based on self-report data obtained from 1166 first-year BGSU students who completed all three AlcoholEdu for College Surveys.» When measured prior to their arrival on campus, your students' drinking rates are slightly above the national average

» When measured midway through the fall semester, 26% of BGSU students reported drinking in a high risk way.

» BGSU students are most commonly drinking at an Off-campus residence or an On-campus residence

» The most common drinking-related risk behaviors that your students engage in are pregaming and doing shots

» Drinking rates are similar for men and women. Women are drinking in a high-risk way as frequently as men

Profile of Incoming Students (Survey 1, prior to campus)

BGSU is slightly above the national average for high-risk drinkers.

Benchmarking Drinking Rate Data First-year student drinking rates measured midway through the fall semester (Survey 3) as compared to the national aggregate for all students taking AlcoholEdu during the same time period.

Off- Campus Drinking

BGSU National

Off-campus residence 57% 39%On-campus 18% 25%Bar or nightclub 12% 10%Fraternity/sorority 5% 14%All other location 9% 12%

Data represents student responses collected in Survey 3, 30-45 days after completing AlcoholEdu for College.

Most common drinking-related risk behaviors

While a majority of students did not experience negative consequences as a result of their drinking,certain behaviors worth noting are detailed below.

AlcoholEdu has enabled BGSU to provide students with a baseline of knowledge and decision-making

strategies around alcohol use.

Minnesota Institute of Public Health (MIPH)Community Readiness SurveyThis community shows about the same level

of readiness as found in the other MIPH communities who participated in the survey.

The level of support for prevention in this community, however, is lower than the other MIPH communities

MIPH SurveyCompared to other communities, this county

residents expressed a higher score on community commitment

A large percentage of respondents are unsure if the community is interested in changing (44%) or if there is a sense of commitment in the community (38%)

We utilized the Stages of Change Model (Prochaska & Di Clemente, 1983) to determine our community’s readiness to embrace this problem

Additional Research ToolsAmerican College Health Association-

National College Health Association (ACHA-ACHA)campus survey, 2010, 2012

BGSU Wellness Connection SPF Needs Assessment Survey, 2012

Context: Target Population14,210 students at BGSU fall between the ages of 18-25 years old

Students have a skewed perception of their peers' average alcohol consumption. Students estimate that a majority of their peers (80.7%) consume alcohol at high-risk levels when approximately half of students (46.9%) actually report such high-risk use (ACHA-NCHA 2012)

Only half of student respondents disapprove of daily alcohol use by their peers. 50.2% of students indicated that they “strongly disapprove” or “somewhat disapprove” of a peer’s use of 1-2 alcoholic beverages nearly every day (ACHA-NCHA 2012)

Problem Statement Community views alcohol use by teens and young

adults as the most serious problem, ranking above tobacco, other drug abuse, and problem gambling (MIPH Community Readiness Survey, Wood County, 2012)

 70.4% of BGSU students reported use of alcohol in last 30 days (ACHA-NCHA 2012)

 24% of BGSU students reported consuming five or more drinks

in a sitting in the last two weeks (BGSU Wellness Connection SPF Needs Assessment Survey, 2012)

64% of BGSU students between the ages of 18-25 report experiencing negative consequences related to alcohol consumption compared to

the national average (ACHA-NCHA, 2012) 

Protective FactorsThe majority of BGSU students perceive that binge drinking is risky and actual alcohol consumption is lower than what students believe

75% of BGSU students perceived that having 5 or more drinks once or twice a week was a moderate or great risk (BGSU Wellness Connection SPF Needs Assessment Survey, 2012)

76% of BGSU students said they did not have five more drinks in a sitting with the last two weeks (BGSU Wellness Connection SPF Needs Assessment Survey, 2012)

Protective Factors

When students were asked to estimate percentage of BGSU students drank in the last 30 days, the average estimate was 95% (ACHA-NCHA, 2012). 70.4% of BGSU students reported use of alcohol in the past 30 days (ACHA-NCHA, 2012)

Risk Factors The majority of BGSU students report

experiencing negative consequences related to alcohol use. Students need to be empowered with strategies and tactics for reducing risks.

45.7% of BGSU students indicated that they did something they later regretted (ACHA-NCHA, 2012)

44.6% of BGSU students forgot where they were or what they

did (ACHA-NCHA, 2012)

48% of those who took AlcoholEdu indicated that they had

experienced a hangover as a result of their drinking (AlcoholEdu,2012)

Risk Factors (Identified Wood County Prevention Coalition)

The alcohol prevention needs of BGSU students are not

currently being effectively addressed.

BGSU does not require all incoming students to participate in a meaningful alcohol education program (BGSU New Student Orientation and First Year Programs)

While there are currently a variety of alcohol-free, alternate activities available on campus for students (BGSU 2012 Biennial Review), a systematic way to develop, plan, and implement alcohol-free programming across campus is essential

Questions on Research?

Questions for discussion:

What additional research tools have you used and how effective have these been in collecting the data you need for your campus?

What data are we not collecting, but should be?

TheoryStages of Change Model (Prochaska & Di

Clemente, 1983) to determine our community’s readiness to embrace this problem. This community demonstrates readiness by connecting a community prevention coalition, a county alcohol and drug addiction mental health services, and the health services of a Midwestern university of approximately 17,500 students

Theory of ChangeIf we correct misperceptions about alcohol use within this community and reinforce positive existing norms through a social norms campaign, then students will realize that high-risk drinking and its negative consequences are less common on campus than they now believe

Theory of ChangeIf students realize that high-risk drinking and its negative consequences are less common on campus than they believe, they will likely drink fewer drinks, drink less often, and will be less likely to have negative consequences related to their alcohol use

Theory of Change

If students drink fewer drinks, drink less often, and have fewer negative consequences related to alcohol use, other students will be more empowered to follow their peers, thus lowering the overall high-risk drinking rates and negative consequences

Social Norms TheoryAll too often, perceptions are incorrect

If unhealthy behavior is perceived to be the standard in a social group, the social urge to conform will negatively affect overall behavior of group members

Alternatively, by educating a group about healthy behavior that is, in fact, the usual practice among peers, behavior can be affected in a positive manner

Social Norms TheoryBUT…

Much of people’s behavior is influenced by their perception of how other members of their social group behave

People tend to misperceive, exaggerate, the negative health behavior of their peers

If people think harmful behavior is typical, they are more likely to engage in that behavior

2004 Campaign

“The Majority Rules”

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are needed to see this picture.

2007 Campaign

“txtn da TruthGt da Msg!”

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TIFF (LZW) decompressorare needed to see this picture.

MethodologyStages of Change model bridges theory and practice in formulating the Strategic Planning Framework (SPF), and developing an alcohol-abuse prevention program

SPF is a data-driven process that focuses on identifying and implementing appropriate environmental prevention strategies based on data collected through an extensive planning process undertaken by this collaborative partnership ACHA-NCHA survey and AlcoholEdu, an online alcohol assessment tool designed to impact both individual behavior and campus culture, are used to develop campaign objectives and key social norms messages 

Campaign Objectives To correct student misperceptions about

drinking and reduce the overall high-risk drinking rate and harmful behaviors associated with binge drinking

 

Three Key Social Norms Messages 1. The majority of students think binge drinking puts students at moderate or great risk for harm 

2. The majority of students do not participate in binge drinking

3. Students overestimate the percentage of their peers who

drank in the last 30 days 

StrategiesSocial Norms

 Policy, Procedures, Infrastructure, and Enforcement

 AlcoholEdu   

StrategiesMedia> Social media including Facebook, Twitter, texts,

web site, app> BG News (both print and online)> Stall Talks (weekly health publication placed in

resident hall bathrooms)> Creative tactics (sidewalk chalking, give-away

items with slogan, web site and QR)> Campus radio and television PSAs> Special events coverage> Story pitches to local media

OutputsResults of Activities All incoming freshmen and their parents/caregivers

receive emails about taking Campus Clarity*

66% of incoming freshmen complete Campus

Clarity

 At least 75 parents complete Campus Clarity Proposals presented to institute Campus Clarity as

mandatory  

OutputsResults of ActivitiesAll 300 student organizations notified of

Campus Clarity training and certificates of completion given 

Campus Clarity training will be piloted with the executive members of the student organizations  

Campus Clarity will be given to members of all LGBTQ organizations on campus

OutputsResults of ActivitiesOrganization utilize the late night manual for an event on campus

*Campus Clarity will be used

beginning Fall 2014

Setting Short- and Long-Term GoalsShorter Term Outcomes(two years)

Longer Term Outcomes(5 years)

Increase awareness by 5% 

Decrease negative behaviors by 5% with ACHA-NCHA data  

Within two years all 300 organizations will have received training  

Manual Complete 

Decrease drinking rate by 5% and increase knowledge and educate community members about risks and negative outcomes associated with alcohol and engage them in alcohol reduction strategies

Campus Clarity as mandatory All student organizations required to

participate and symbol would show completed training

Manual incorporated into all late night campus alternative events and the campus alcohol policy and guidelines

 

Establishing goals and outcomesHow did you develop both short- and long-

term outcomes?

What are your outcomes?

How will they be measured?

75% of BGSU students perceive that having 5 or more drinks once or twice a week is a moderate or great risk

76% of BGSU students did not participate in high-risk drinking (having 5 or more drinks in a sitting) within the last two weeks

Protective Factors

99% of BGSU students do not drink daily62% of BGSU always or most of the time use a designated driver

The majority of BGSU students (70%) do not drive after having 5 or more drinks

NCHA, 2012)93% of BGSU students have never been in trouble with the police as a consequence of drinking (NCHA, 2012)84% of BGSU students have never physically injured themselves and 96% have never injured another person as a consequence of drinking

98% of BGSU students have not had sex with someone without consent as a consequence of drinking

64% of BGSU students report experiencing negative consequences related to alcohol consumption, higher than the national average of 51% (NCHA, 2012). For this social norms campaign, it is important that we focus on those areas where students are not putting themselves at risk (protective factors). Educational efforts will be used to address the risky negative consequences that are the norm.

Negative Factors

93% of BGSU students have never been in trouble with the police as a consequence of drinking

84% of BGSU students have never physically injured themselves and 96% have never injured another person as a consequence of drinking

The majority of BGSU students (64%) have never forgotten where they were or what they did as a result of drinking

The majority of BGSU students (64%) rarely or never play drinking games

The majority of BGSU students (70%) do not drive after having 5 or more drinks

Next StepsSocial Responsibility approachMaintaining partnershipsSustain community engagementFurther audience segmentationContinue research to further assess each

audience’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors toward alcohol misuse such that health messages are more effectively developed to reach these segments

Evaluation

OhioMHAS SPF-SIG Grant 

Questions? 

Contact InformationFaith Yingling, Ph.D.Director, Wellness ConnectionBowling Green State University, Ohiofaithy@bgsu.edu419-372-9351

Terry L. Rentner, Ph.D. School of Media and

Communication Bowling Green State University,

Ohio trentne@bgsu.edu 4129-372-2079