Establishing Conservative Norms versus Peer Pressure Resistance Training
The Adolescent Alcohol Prevention Trial |
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This study examined two approaches to preventing alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among adolescents.
The first approach was titled Normative Education. The goal of this program was to establish beliefs in conventional norms among students. This program taught students that the prevalence of substance use among their peers was lower than they might otherwise expect. It also taught students that substance use was generally not approved of by their peer group.
The second approach was titled Resistance Skills Training. The goal of this program was to build skills in students for resisting peer and other forms of social pressure. Students were taught a variety of techniques for identifying and resisting social pressure. They were taught skills for being assertive in peer interactions and practiced these skills through role played scenarios.
The programs were delivered to students in seventh grade classes. This study reports follow-up data collected when students were in the eighth grade. The project tested four different programs
Normative Education and Resistance Skills Training (combined)
Normative Education (only)
Resistance Skills Training (only)
Information Only (minimal treatment control)
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The Normative Education program produced lower rates of increase for all three substances that were measured. The Resistance Skills Training program, in contrast, did not produce lower use rates for any of the substances.
Between pretest and posttest, classes that were exposed to either Information Only or Resistance Skills Training (only) demonstrated increases in the percentage of students reporting "ever being drunk" (11%). The increase for students in classes exposed to Normative Education was 4%.
Problems associated with drinking progressed as follows. Only 1.4% of students reported having problems that could be associated with alcohol use in the seventh grade. By eighth grade, problems associated with alcohol among students who were not enrolled in a Normative Education class increased 2.4%. Problem alcohol use among students in Normative Education classes increased 0.3%.
Initial use of alcohol among students in Normative Education classes increased 11%. Among students in classes that did not receive Normative Education, the increase was 14%. At pretest, 5% of students overall reported drinking during the past week. This increased by 5% among no Normative Education classes, but increased less than 3% among students who were exposed to Normative Education.
The onset of marijuana use was lower among students exposed to the Normative Education program. Reports of ever having used marijuana increased 2.2% among students exposed to Normative Education; the rate increased 6.2% among students who did not receive Normative Education.
Normative Education students reported lower smoking in the past 30 days (4.8%) than students not enrolled in Normative Education (6.5%). |
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Educational programs that establish conservative or conventional norms regarding substance use can meaningfully reduce the onset of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use. Most adolescents, particularly those who are likely to become drug users, have exaggerated perceptions of what is normal among their peer group. They often think drug use is more common and more accepted than it actually is. Normative education requires interaction that can correct inaccurate perceptions that many adolescents have.
Teaching students to resist peer pressure alone does not appear, at least from the results of this study, to be an effective strategy for prevention. However, the strongest results occurred when teaching skills for resisting pressure accompanied teaching students that substance use was not acceptable or common. It may be that teaching about peer pressure without first establishing conventional norms, may actually make substance use appear more common and acceptable than it actually is. |
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| Hansen,W.B., Graham,J.W. (1991). Preventing Alcohol, Marijuana, and Cigarette Use Among Adolescents: Peer Pressure Resistance Training Versus Establishing Conservative Norms. Preventive Medicine, 20, 414-430. |
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| Researcher's Email Address: billhansen@tanglewood.net |
| Researcher's Home Page: www.tanglewood.net
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