Encouraging responsible drinking among underage drinkers.
Public Service Announcements tailored to specific college drinking rituals (Treise, Wolburg and Otnes 1999) were tested on 133 underage undergraduate drinkers. More significant reductions in drinking intentions were found when using appeals focusing on drinking rituals pertaining to Maturity/Order (older students drink moderately: "Don't drink like a freshman.") than to Transformation (desired personality and mood changes), Community (social bonding and camaraderie), or a no-message Control. Gender did not moderate this effect. Underage drinkers may drink, in part, to feel more "grown up." Emphasizing that more senior students actually drink responsibly may diminish this belief and result in reduced alcohol consumption among underage students.
Brannon
Laura A
LA
Kansas State University, KS, USA.
Pilling
Valerie K
VK
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D033242:Minors / Q000523:psychology; D010379:Peer Group; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012309:Risk-Taking; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012925:Social Conformity; D012928:Social Desirability; D040241:Social Marketing; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014495:Universities