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Print Media Campaigns
| Electronic Media Campaigns | Curriculum Infusion Campaigns | ProjectImpact -- Success Data! | Project Partnerships

Consultation and Dissemination Services



Pioneers in Research and Delivery of the Social Norms Prevention Model and Innovative Curricula

This Project combines a comprehensive social norms marketing campaign to reduce harmful misperceptions about student drinking norms with new strategies for teaching about alcohol, other drugs, and violence in the academic curriculum in order to reduce actual alcohol abuse. The project directors provide leadership in alcohol and other drug prevention nationally through research publications, conference presentations and workshops, and focused institutional consulting.

We'll Help You!

  • Consultation and Facilitation Services

    - Social norms approach to prevention- theory and practice

    - Strategies for data collection in a social norms prevention program

    - Creating media for a social norms prevention program

    - Electronic Media in a social norms prevention program

    - Strategies for building AOD curriculum infusion

    - Social norms prevention in high school and middle school settings

Project Directors

H. Wesley Perkins, Ph.D.
Dept. of Anthropology/Sociology
Phone: (315) 781-3437, Fax: (315) 781-3718
E-mail: perkins@hws.edu

David W. Craig, Ph.D.
Dept. of Chemistry
Phone: (315) 781-3611, Fax: (315) 781-3860
E-mail: craig@hws.edu


Transforming Data Into Action

- Any of our survey instruments can be used with questions customized for your needs. Secure user accounts can be established to ensure the integrity of your data. Thousands of college students have participated in these surveys in recent years from across the country.

- See a description of our web-based surveys, sample screen shots, and how to implement our surveys in your program (Click here).

- Campus Factoids- a campus newspaper column reporting characteristics and accomplishments of the student body.

- Newspaper and Poster Advertisements- report alcohol norms to the campus community.

If you want to...

- bring social norms messages to where students, faculty, and staff work...as they work

- dynamically and
instantaneously update
your prevention messages

- incorporate multimedia
video and sound into your prevention messages

Then think about using your computer network for prevention!

If you want to...

- bring social norms messages to where students, faculty, and staff work...as they work

- expand the number of individuals working toward prevention on your campus

- enhance your prevention program while strengthening
your academic curriculum
at the same time


Then you'll want to think about growing alcohol and other drug content into your academic program!

  • Electronic Media Campaigns

    - Multimedia Interactive Campus Factoids and Reactiods- Students can browse previously published CampusFactoids and related student-produced videos, supplementary survey research data, and photos.

    - Screen Saver- Broadcasts social norms messages without relying on a user to start the program. Computer self-initiates this screen saver program.

    - World Wide Web Site Resource for Students and Faculty- Brings social norms information while supporting academic work. Creates research resources for the campus community and deliver prevention messages along the way.

  • Curriculum Infusion Campaigns

- Curriculum Infusion at Hobart and William Smith Colleges across the disciplines- development of a model for expanding AOD issues in the curriculum for colleges and universities, development of an extensive interdisciplinary model course on alcohol, a faculty workshop for AOD curriculum infusion in other courses, and training for student teachers and secondary teachers.

- Workshop for Growing AOD Project in the Curriculum- provided some time and resources for faculty from a variety of disciplines to get together and discuss ways in which they might integrate readings, discussion, projects, etc. about alcohol and other drugs into their existing courses or into new courses they plan to develop. The results can be found here.

- Model Interdisciplinary Course Alcohol Use and Abuse: Causes and Consequences
This model course was designed to illustrate how the formal curriculum can be linked to the development and implementation of a comprehensive campus-wide alcohol prevention program. (sociology/biochemistry)

- Teacher Training Program Workshops- workshops for local area professionals working in secondary education and for college students at Hobart and William Smith preparing for careers in education which introduced the "social norms" approach to education, ways to carry out the social norms model and disseminate its information, and the social norms impact on the Hobart and William Smith campus.

  • Project Partnerships

    - The HWS Alcohol Education Project has assisted and collaborated with prevention programming efforts across the country. Most recently, the U.S. Department of Education (campus-wide program, MVP intercollegiate athlete program) has recognized it as a model program in its national competitions. Additionally, project personnel have assisted in program development at the statewide and countywide levels, with numerous colleges and universities, and with high schools and middle schools.

It Works! In the First 18 Months at HWS:

Drinking Attitudes, Perceptions, and Practices Showed a...

- 15% reduction in perceived heavy drinkers
- 16% reduction in drinking to get drunk
- 21% reduction in frequent heavy drinking

Consequences of Drinking Showed a...

- 31% reduction in missed classes
- 36% reduction in property damage
- 40% reduction in unprotected sex

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