Gavin Henning

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Developing A Social Norms Assessment Plan
Gavin Henning Research Associate Student and
Academic Services Assessment Center University of
New Hampshire gavin.henning_at_unh.edu www.unh.edu/st
udent-life/assessment All presentation
materials available at www.unh.edu/reality-check/
socialnorming.htm
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Social norming is an innovative approach to
curbing high-risk alcohol use. But how do you
know if this educational approach works on your
campus? This interactive session will walk you
through a step-by-step approach whereby you will
learn how to develop an assessment plan AND leave
with the finished framework for a comprehensive
social norms assessment plan that you can
implement on your campus. A working knowledge of
social norms regarding alcohol use is needed for
this session.
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• The Learning Environment
• Learning community learn from each other
• Comment, question, and challenge
• Respect

4

• Intended Learning Outcomes
• Understand the purpose of assessment
• Understand the process of developing an
• assessment plan
• Acquire skill and experience developing an
• assessment plan
• Understand the key components of a
• comprehensive assessment plan for a social norms
  campaign

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Why is assessing social norming so difficult?
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(No Transcript)
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• Step 1 Identifying Assumptions
• What biases or preconceived notions do you have?

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• Step 1 Identifying Assumptions (continued)
• What biases or preconceived notions do you have?
• I dont know how to do a social norming
  assessment
• I dont have time to do a social norming
  assessment
• I dont need to do an assessment because I know
  that
• social norming is working on my campus
• Change in alcohol use is the measure of
  effectiveness

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• Step 2 Define the Problem/Clarify Objectives
• What do you specifically need to know?
•   
• Identify research questions

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• Step 2 Define the Problem/Clarify Objectives
• (continued)
• What do you specifically need to know?
• Is social norming an effective method to
• decreasing alcohol use (quantity and frequency)
• and the associated negative consequences?
• What other things could be influencing alcohol
• use and negative consequences aside from social
• norming?

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• Step 2 Define the Problem/Clarify Objectives
  (continued)
• Identify research questions
• As a result of social norming, is there a
  decrease in the amount
• of alcohol consumed?
• As a result of social norming, is there a
  decrease in the frequency
• of alcohol consumed?
• As a result of social norming, is there a
  decrease in binge and
• frequent binge drinking?
• As a result of social norming, is there an
  increase in the number of
• students choosing not to consume alcohol?
• As a result of social norming, is there a
  decrease in the percentage
• of students who experience negative consequences
  due to alcohol use?
• As a result of social norming, is there a
  decrease in the percentage
• of judicial and police-related alcohol cases?
• Are students receiving the social norming
  messages?
• Are students integrating the social norming
  messages into
• their lives?
• What are the alcohol use patterns for students
  coming into college?

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• Step 3 Data Decisions
• What types of information will you need to answer
  
• your questions?
•  
•  Is this information quantitative, qualitative,
• or both? What are the strengths/weaknesses to
• each of these types of data?
•   
• Is there data that already exists? What are
  these
• data sources?

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• Step 3 Data Decisions (continued)
• What types of information will you need to answer
  your questions?
• Alcohol use rates
• Alcohol frequency rates
• Binge drinking rates
• Percentage of non-drinkers
• Percentage of students experiencing negative
  consequences from
• drinking
• Number of alcohol judicial and police-related
  cases
• Percentage of students seeing/hearing messages
• Change resulting from seeing/hearing with these
  messages
• Rate of alcohol use of incoming students
• Enforcement practices
• Alcohol-related programs and services

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• Step 3 Data Decisions (continued)
• Is this information quantitative, qualitative, or
  
• both? What are the strengths/weaknesses to each
  of
• these types of data?
• Most of the data is quantitative, but some may be
  
• qualitative
• Quantitative data are sometimes easier to obtain
• and can be used to easily review trends
• Qualitative data can add rich, deep information
• that cannot be obtained from quantitative data

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• Step 3 Data Decisions (continued)
• Is there data that already exists? What are these
  data sources?
• CIRP Freshman Survey
• New Hampshire Higher Education Alcohol,
• Tobacco, and Other Drug Survey
• Positive Norming Survey
• Judicial Records
• Police Records

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• Step 4 Data Collection
• What types of data need to be collected?
• How can this data be collected?
• Who should this data be collected from?

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• Step 4 Data Collection (continued)
• What data needs to be collected?
• Information to determine if students are
• receiving the messages and integrating them
• Information regarding enforcement practices and
• alcohol-related programs and services

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• Step 4 Data Collection (continued)
• How can this data be collected?
• Add questions to New Hampshire Higher
• Education Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Survey
• Conduct focus groups with students
• Conduct interviews with residential life staff
  and
• judicial staff and police about enforcement
• practices
• Conduct interviews with health services staff
• regarding any changes in alcohol-related programs
  
• and services

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• Step 4 Data Collection (continued)
• Who should this data be collected from?
• A representative sample of UNH students
• Appropriate staff

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• Step 5 Making Sense Of It All
• How should the data be analyzed?
•  
• So what does the data mean?
•  
• Are there other reasons that you havent studied
• that can lead to these results aside from social
• norming?
•  
• What are the implications for practice?

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• Step 5 Making Sense Of It All (continued)
• How should the data be analyzed?
• Using basic, not advanced, statistics and
• content review

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• Step 5 Making Sense Of It All (continued)
• So what does the data mean?
• Social norming is effective in reducing the
  frequency and
• use of alcohol as well as curbing the negative
  consequences
• associated with its use. This conclusion has been
  reached as a
• result of the following taken together. The
  average number of
• drinks consumed per week, the number of nights
  partying
• per week, and the number of binge and frequent
  binge
• drinkers have all decreased since the pre-test.
  
• The number of non-drinkers has not changed as was
  hoped.
• There has been a decrease in the percentage of
  students
• experiencing 12 of 15 negative consequences.
• Additionally, the usage of incoming students has
  increased. This
• would be expected to increase the usage, not
  decrease it.
• Students stated that posters and stickers across
  campus were the
• most effective means of getting the message out.
  Ads in the campus
• newspaper and PowerPoint adds on the campus
  television station
• were not effective.

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• Step 5 Making Sense Of It All (continued)
• Are there other reasons that you havent studied
• that can lead to these results aside from social
• norming?
• Use by students entering UNH was analyzed
• There were no other new initiatives in alcohol
• prevention or reduction during this time
• There were no known culture-changing incidents
• (e.g., lawsuits, student injury)

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• Step 5 Making Sense Of It All (continued)
• What are the implications for practice?
• Campaign will continue in present state with some
  
• minor changes being made
• Ads in campus paper and on campus television
• station will be stopped and more emphasis will be
  
• placed on posters and stickers
• More messages will be developed around the
• number of non-drinkers
• Social norming around tobacco use will begin

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• Step 6 Effective Reporting
• What are the political implications of these
• findings?
•   
• To whom will you report your findings?
•   
• How will you report your findings?
• When will you report your findings?
•   
• What can you do so that your findings are not
• shelved?

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• Step 6 Effective Reporting (continued)
• What are the political implications of these
• findings?
• Now the social norms approach on this campus
• and the subsequent budget can be defended. It
• will be important to emphasize that the approach
• must continue in order to have an ongoing effect.
  
• More money can confidently be requested for
• tobacco social norming.

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• Step 6 Effective Reporting (continued)
• To whom will you report your findings?
• President
• Vice President for Student Affairs
• Director of Health Services
• Faculty
• Staff
• Students
• Alumni
• Parents
• Other health professionals
• The public

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• Step 6 Effective Reporting (continued)
• How will you report your findings?
• Hardcopy of the executive summary sent to the
  President,
• Vice President for Student Affairs, Director of
  Health Services,
• Chair of the Faculty Senate, Student Body
  President, Chairs of
• the Operating Staff and Professional,
  Administrative, and
• Technical Staff Councils, and the New Hampshire
  Higher
• Education Alcohol and Other Drug Committee
• Comprehensive report will be posted on the web
  and linked
• to various constituency specific sites (e.g.,
  Parents Association,
• Alumni Association, etc.)
• Article will be placed in the campus newspaper
  and the
• faculty and staff weekly journal.
• Press release to local papers

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• Step 6 Effective Reporting (continued)
• When will you report your findings?
• Approximately October once students, faculty,
• and staff settle into semester

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• Step 6 Effective Reporting (continued)
• What can you do so that your findings are not
  
• shelved?
• Try to get the word out to as many people as
• possible
• Continue the campaign
• Being social norming with tobacco

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• Step 7 Closing the Loop Utilizing Results to
• Effect Change
• How will you practically utilize the results?
• What do you need to do to effect change?

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• Step 7 Closing the Loop Utilizing Results to
• Effect Change (continued)
• How will you practically utilize the results?
• To reallocate resources from newspaper
• ads which are expensive and put these towards
• posters and stickers which are more effective
• Begin social norming around tobacco

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• Step 7 Closing the Loop Utilizing Results to
• Effect Change (continued)
• What do you need to do to effect change
• Support from the Division of Student Affairs,
• the students, and the institution to secure
• funding to continue social norming around
• alcohol and obtain additional funding for social
• norming around tobacco
• Extra human resources to begin the tobacco
• social norming

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• Step 8 Re-cycling Continuing the Loop
• How will you assess the changes you made the
• social norming campaign based on the recent
• results?
•  
• What other types of assessment do you want to do
• with social norming?

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• Step 8 Re-cycling Continuing the Loop
  (continued)
• How will you assess the changes you made the
• social norming campaign based on the recent
• results?
• Determine if norming around non-drinkers is
• effective in increasing the number of
  non-drinkers
• Determine if norming around tobacco use is
• effective
• Confirm that norming around alcohol is still
• effective

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• Step 8 Re-cycling Continuing the Loop
  (continued)
• What other types of assessment do you want to do
• with social norming?
• Determine which messages have the most effect
• Explore norming on various sub-groups
• (e.g., athletes, Greeks, first year students,
  etc.)

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Developing A Social Norms Assessment Plan
Gavin Henning Research Associate Student and
Academic Services Assessment Center University of
New Hampshire gavin.henning_at_unh.edu www.unh.edu/st
udent-life/assessment All presentation
materials available at www.unh.edu/reality-check/
socialnorming.htm