Youth-Led Campaign Changes Student Drug Use Perceptions

What better people than youth to lead a campaign to change a negative perception about themselves? That's just what two groups representing two high schools in the Portland, Ore. area did the past two school years.

Students from Wilson and Marshall high schools’ youth prevention groups affiliated with the Oregon Partnership, a long-time member of CADCA, knew that they were not using and that most of their peers weren’t, either. So, they decided to collect data about underage drinking and substance abuse using surveys and focus groups to disprove a community perception that most youth were abusing.

Their experiment worked. Not only did their data show that 70 percent or more of their classmates were not binge drinking and were refraining from using drugs, but the youth groups created partnerships outside their school campuses and developed a media campaign to raise awareness about the positive impact of their survey results and discussing perceptions of the community.

The students held a recent town hall meeting comprised of teens, parents, and community members that addressed local attitudes, challenges and solutions surrounding underage drinking and substance abuse.

The impact has been great: At Wilson High School, for example, the student-led social norms campaign has resulted in a 28 percent decrease in school infractions. At both schools, alcohol and marijuana use have decreased since the onset of the campaign two years ago.

During the second year of the campaign, one of the schools held successful substance-free events such as a comedy night and a Halloween party that attracted crowds of youth proclaiming that it was OK to celebrate sober.

“Our group wanted to host these events to show you can party clean and sober,” said Dorsey Williams, 18, who graduated this month from Wilson High School. He hopes these events will continue next year.

Both groups conducted pre- and post-surveys and found that their post-surveys showed that as the perception of use has decreased, use has also gone down.

“After the survey results came in, we knew we could make a difference…our presence on campus was actually making a difference,” said Halley Hagar, 17.

Halley said her school, which closed this month due to budget cuts, had the low- income, partying reputation throughout the community prior to this campaign.

“The businesses and the community, in general, didn’t want anything to do with the school at first, but through out community presentations and town halls, we really changed the perception of the school and got the community to be more involved.”

The students from Marshall High School, where Halley graduated from this month, will continue their youth prevention group at neighboring Franklin High School.

One of their school marijuana campaign messages, “Are you a part of the 77 percent,” was so popular that fellow students would redistribute outer locker magnets affixed by Halley’s group into their own lockers. Another message catered to the students who might be tempted to relieve their depression about their school closure with alcohol and drugs.

Emily Moser, Parenting and Youth Programs Director, Oregon Partnership, said the campaign not only changed the community social norm and rewarded the ones who don’t use, but the assignment taught the students about the importance of media messaging and data collection.

“It has raised awareness and changed perceptions,” Moser said. “Now we have to continue to work on reducing the ones who do use.”