Press Releases
Here you will find examples of press releases that have been issued either by the National Social Norms Institute, the National Social Norms Resource Center, or others in the field. The releases are listed by year of publication. For more information or additional samples of press releases, please contact us directly at (434) 982-6688, or by e-mail.

From Monitoring the Future, an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American secondary school students, college students, and young adults.
"Overall, illicit drug use by American teens continues gradual decline in 2007" (December 11, 2007)
Eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders across the country are continuing to show a gradual decline in the proportions reporting use of illicit drugs, according to the 33rd national survey in the Monitoring The Future (MTF) series conducted by scientists at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. University of Michigan News Service: Ann Arbor, MI. [Online].

Turner, James, M.D., Letter to the Editor, USA Today (August 31, 2007)
The incidents featured in "Alcohol-saturated 'fun' on campus can be lethal" are indeed tragic. But the portrait emerging from accounts of reckless, careless over-drinking college students inaccurately portrays the norm (Life, Aug. 22)...

College Students Play it Safe: New Study Shows Protective Behaviors Reduce Risk of Injury (July 27, 2006)
A study of more than 28,000 students attending 44 colleges and universities found that college students regularly employ a variety of protective behaviors in order to reduce their risk of injury when drinking. The research further finds that a number of these behaviors correlate significantly with reduced harm, including physical injury to self or others, involvement in a fight, or forced sexual activities. This research will be published in the September/October (volume 54/number 8) issue of the Journal of American College Health and will be presented at the 2006 National Social Norms Conference, July 26-28 in Denver.

U.S. Department of Education Recognizes Four Colleges for their Effective Social Norms Approaches to Curb High-Risk Drinking among College Students (June 21, 2006)
College students are changing their high-risk drinking behaviors for healthier choices, according to recently-announced award winning programs at four universities. The four colleges and universities that will be officially announced as grant recipients at the U.S. Department of Education's 20th Annual Conference this fall for the Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Models on College Campuses Grant Competition are using the social norms marketing approach, according to the National Social Norms Resource Center. The schools are George Mason University; Montclair State University; University of Albany, State University of New York; and University of Missouri, Columbia.

Six Leading Universities Report Decreases in High-Risk Drinking, Reduced Negative Consequences, and More Accurate Perceptions as a Result of Multi-Year Social Norms Interventions (August 24, 2005).
In a teleconference/web-conference today hosted by the National Social Norms Resource Center, representatives for California State University, Fresno, Florida State University, Michigan State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Georgetown University and the University of Virginia reported that the social norms approach is effectively reducing the misperceptions students have about their peers' actual alcohol intake and, in turn, reducing high-risk drinking and negative consequences campus-wide. The findings were originally released at this summer's 2005 National Social Norms Conference, held July 13-15 in Toronto, Canada.

High Schools Lower Teen Tobaccao and Alcohol use Through Social Norms Interventions (07/24/2004)

H. Wesley Perkins Notes Serious Flaws in Recent Harvard Study A press release.

Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study Surveys (8/20/02) confirm that most students drink moderately, if at all.