 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Shelly Campo, PhD, Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Drive, E237 GH, Iowa City, IA 52244 and Kenzie A. Cameron, PhD, Speech Communication, University of Georgia, 145 Terrell Hall, Athens, GA 30602-1725, (706) 542-0586, kcameron@arches.uga.edu.
Recent health campaigns on college campus have focused on promoting a behavioral norm. This social norms approach suggests that key components in attitude and behavior change are the attitudes one has that are affected by one’s perceptions of other’s attitudes and behaviors. The implicit assumption of these campaigns is that these perceptions and attitudes precede one’s decision to participate in or avoid participation in a particular behavior. Although this assumption is forwarded in other models of attitude and behavior change (e.g., The Theory of Planned Behavior), the efficacy of social norms campaigns has been mixed. This study was conducted to assess the relationships between demographics, individual attitudes, and attitudes regarding normative beliefs and behaviors on three health behaviors. Students at two universities (N = 393) completed questionnaires assessing how each of these variables related to their consumption of alcohol, tobacco use, and exercise behaviors. Regressions indicated that each of these variables affected behavior. However, across the behaviors, varied independent variables emerged as the salient predictors. Although attitudes predicted behaviors, in several conditions the effect of normative beliefs and behaviors was not significant, a finding in direct opposition to social norms marketing. In all three behavioral conditions, the variable accounting for the greatest variance was whether or not the individual liked participating in that particular behavior. Thus, although some social norms marketing may be meeting with success, it may be the case that predicted attitudinal and behavioral changes will not be found when applied to health topics other than alcohol.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Health Communications, College Students
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: employment