Student Attitudes Toward the Use of Social Marketing Campaigns to Reduce Alcohol Consumption and Promote Wellbeing

Abstract

This paper reports qualitative findings from a social work honours project examining university student attitudes toward alcohol and consumption patterns in relation to safety, respect, mental health and wellbeing. The research utilised a postmodern and grounded theory framework to explore student attitudes toward the use of social marketing campaigns to reduce alcohol consumption. A mixed-methods questionnaire was developed including quantitative and qualitative measures. The questionnaire asked about respondent demographics, alcohol consumption and attitudes, as well as attitudes toward the use of social marketing. Respondents were required to be current Charles Sturt University students and to be at least 18 years of age. Two hundred and twenty respondents were recruited from the university’s five regional campuses in New South Wales, either online or via means of a paper-based questionnaire. Four key concepts emerged from thematic analysis of the qualitative data: 1) perceptions of the effectiveness of social marketing campaigns to reduce alcohol consumption, 2) influential factors within social marketing campaigns, 3) drivers of alcohol consumption, and 4) incongruence between student attitudes and social marketing campaign messages. The findings suggest that social marketing is a promising social intervention within tertiary communities, with the capacity to promote healthy behaviours and to promote both physical and mental health and wellbeing. To have the greatest impact however, social marketing campaigns should take into account student attitudes and motivations for consumption. Recommendations are made for future research, social policy, and practice directions within tertiary institutions by applying the four concepts to each of these three areas.

Reference

MacDonald, J. B., Sweeting, J., Bowles, W., & Saliba, A. J. (2014). Student Attitudes Toward the Use of Social Marketing Campaigns to Reduce Alcohol Consumption and Promote Wellbeing. Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development, 9–12 July. Melbourne, Australia. (Paper – Interactive Presentation)

Links

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