A social norms approach to changing school children’s perceptions of tobacco usage

Abstract

A s o ci al n o r m s a p p r o a c h t o c h a n gi n g s c h o ol c hil d r e n's p e r c e p tio n s of t o b a c c o u s a g e S h eik h, A, Vad e r a , S, R av ey, MI, Lov a t t, G a n d Kelly, G h t t p:// dx. doi.o r g/ 1 0. 1 1 0 8/ h e-0 1-2 0 1 7-0 0 0 6 Ti t l e A s o ci al n o r m s a p p r o a c h t o c h a n gi n g s c h o ol c hil d r e n's p e r c e p tio n s of t o b a c c o u s a g e A u t h o r s S h eik h, A, Vad e r a , S, R av ey, MI, Lov a t t, G a n d Kelly, G Typ e Articl e U RL This ve r sio n is a v ail a bl e a t : h t t p:// u sir.s alfo r d. a c. u k/id/ e p ri n t/ 4 3 1 1 9/ P u b l i s h e d D a t e 2 0 1 7 U SIR is a di git al c oll e c tio n of t h e r e s e a r c h o u t p u t of t h e U niv e r si ty of S alfo r d. W h e r e c o py ri g h t p e r mi t s, full t e x t m a t e ri al h el d in t h e r e p o si to ry is m a d e fr e ely a v ail a bl e o nli n e a n d c a n b e r e a d , d o w nlo a d e d a n d c o pi e d fo r n o nc o m m e r ci al p riv a t e s t u dy o r r e s e a r c h p u r p o s e s . Pl e a s e c h e c k t h e m a n u s c ri p t fo r a n y fu r t h e r c o py ri g h t r e s t ri c tio n s. Fo r m o r e info r m a tio n, in cl u di n g o u r p olicy a n d s u b mi s sio n p r o c e d u r e , pl e a s e c o n t a c t t h e R e p o si to ry Te a m a t: u si r@ s alfo r d. a c. u k . Abstract Purpose -Over 200,000 young people in the UK embark on a smoking career annually, thus continued effort is required to understand the types of interventions that are most effective in changing perceptions about smoking amongst teenagers. Several authors have proposed the use of Social Norms programmes, where correcting misconceptions of what is considered normal behaviour lead to improved behaviours. There are a limited number of studies showing the effectiveness of such programmes for changing teenagers' perception of smoking habits, and hence this paper reports on the results from one of the largest Social Norms programmes that used a variety of interventions aimed at improving teenagers' perceptions of smoking. Design/methodology/approach -A range of interventions was adopted for 57 programmes in Year 9 students, ranging from more passive interventions such as posters and banners to more active interventions such as student apps and enterprise days. Each programme consisted of a baseline survey followed by interventions and a repeat survey to calculate changes in perception. A clustering algorithm was also used to reveal the impact of combinations of interventions. Findings -The study reveals three main findings: (i) the use of social norms is an effective means of changing perceptions (ii) the level of interventions and change in perceptions are positively correlated and (iii) that the most effective combinations of interventions include the use of interactive feedback assemblies, enterprise days, parent and student apps and newsletters to parents.Originality/value -The paper presents results from one of the largest social norm programmes aimed at improving young people...

The Effectiveness of Traditional Media (Leaflet and Poster) to Promote Health in a Community Setting in the Digital Era: A Systematic Review

“…The analysis of the articles showed that they will be more effective when combined with other media. The other media in question could be education from the health workers, videos, demonstrations, Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and games (Sheikh, Vadera, Ravey, Lovatt, & Kelly, 2017).…”

The Change Up Project: Using Social Norming Theory with Young People to Address Domestic Abuse and Promote Healthy Relationships

“…In doing so, we have demonstrated the value of a SNA to changing the attitudes and norms of young people as every question that was included in both the baseline and repeat surveys showed a measurable change. More generally, there is a growing body of evidence that illuminates the centrality of social norms in the development of positive behavior (Elsey et al 2015;Sheikh et al 2017), whilst here we provide evidence of its value in relation to healthy relationship norms and behaviors. Moreover, it is widely accepted that the ways in which to successfully address DVA when it presents in relationships, in adolescence or adulthood, is through an approach which targets norms (Stanley et al 2015;Cislaghi and Heise 2017) within a school environment as 'shifting social norms in the peer group [is] a key mechanism of change' (Stanley et al 2015: v).…”

“…As a consequence, a social norming approach (SNA) is based upon a well-articulated theory of behavior and evidence-based methodology for addressing health and social justice issues (Berkowitz 2012). In work with young people, it has increasingly been utilized in prevention work around alcohol use and smoking (Elsey et al 2015;Sheikh et al 2017). More importantly, it is during the last decade that social norms theory has gained momentum as a potentially useful means of addressing gender-based violence and domestic abuse (Cislaghi and Heise 2017).…”

Social Norms Change and Tobacco Use: A Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Interventions

“…Social norms may be a valuable entrypoint for tobacco control efforts, based on longitudinal social network evidence suggesting that cessation behavior can spread in a network through proximal and distal ties [36][37][38]. Social norms interventions for tobacco use often involve correcting normative misperceptions (e.g., [39]) and using peer leaders to drive activities and dialogue around change (e.g., [40]). The evidence base for these approaches is mixed, and further research is needed to understanding if and how social norms add value to tobacco reduction, cessation, or prevention interventions.…”