The GOOD life: Study protocol for a social norms intervention to reduce alcohol and other drug use among Danish adolescents

Abstract

BackgroundIt is currently unknown if school-based social norms interventions are effective in preventing harmful alcohol consumption and other drug use among adolescents in Denmark. This paper describes the social norms-based programme The GOOD life and the design of a cluster-randomized controlled trial to test its effectiveness.Methods/DesignThe intervention The GOOD life is composed of three social norms components representing three different communication channels, namely face-to-face communication (normative feedback session), print communication (posters) and interactive media (web application). The intervention period of 8 weeks is preceded and followed by data collection, with the follow-up taking place 3 months after baseline. Public schools in the Region of Southern Denmark with grades 8 and 9 are invited to participate in the study and participating schools are randomly allocated to either intervention or control schools. The aim is to recruit a total of 39 schools and a sample of 1.400 pupils for the trial. An online questionnaire is conducted to examine the use of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana as well as the perceived frequency of use among peers of their own grade, which is measured before and after the intervention. Baseline data is used to develop social norms messages which are included in the three intervention components. Primary outcomes are binge drinking (more than 5 units at one occasion) and perceived frequency of binge drinking among peers, while smoking, marijuana use and alcohol-related harm will be assessed as secondary outcomes.DiscussionThe GOOD life study will provide necessary insights on descriptive and injunctive norms regarding alcohol and other drug use among Danish adolescents. In addition, it will provide new knowledge and insight on the feasibility, implementation context and effectiveness of a newly developed social norms intervention in the Danish school context.Trial registrationDate of registration: 17 February 2016 (retrospectively registered) at Current Controlled Trials with study ID ISRCTN27491960

Effects of the social norms intervention The GOOD Life on norm perceptions, binge drinking and alcohol-related harms: A cluster-randomised controlled trial

“…To facilitate ownership among the pupils each message reflected a positive behaviour of the majority and it was emphasised that the data displayed were specifically tailored for each participating school and grade. The social norms messages were phrased to challenge misperceptions of peer behaviour (descriptive norms) and attitudes towards alcohol use (injunctive norms), such as “8 out of 10 pupils in 8 th grade at [school name] have NEVER been drunk” and “89% of pupils in 8 th grade at [school name] think it's NOT okay to drink alcohol if it affects school ( Stock et al, 2016 ). At each school, The GOOD Life intervention started with a 40-min classroom feedback session facilitated by the research team.…”

“…The web application was designed for individual users and, like the feedback session, the setup involved a multiple-choice quiz that instantly showed the correct answer. The web application was developed by Social Sense Ltd. (UK), modified for use in The GOOD Life in close collaboration with the research team ( Stock et al, 2016 ) and used in accordance to a temporary licence agreement.…”

“…An overview of the entire study, including a description of the school setting, the recruitment of schools for the study and details on the intervention, is provided elsewhere ( Stock et al, 2016 ; Vallentin-Holbech, 2018 ).…”

Do injunctive and descriptive normative beliefs need a value-laden multiplier in value expectancy models? A Case Series Across Multiple Health Behaviors

“…For example, The Good Life Study used three communication channels (face-to-face, print, and web-based communication) to provide normative messages about alcohol and drug use to public schools over a period of 8 weeks in Denmark. 19 However, not all interventions based on changing social norms have been able to change behaviors. In a national evaluation of a social norm intervention of almost 100 colleges targeting alcohol consumption, researchers found that students attending colleges that adopted the social norms marketing were not different in 7 measures of alcohol consumption (eg, daily and 30-day use, heavy episodic drinking, drunkenness), compared to students in schools that did not adopt the social norms marketing.…”

Erratum to: The GOOD life: Study protocol for a social norms intervention to reduce alcohol and other drug use among Danish adolescents

“…Following publication of this study design article [ 1 ], it has come to our attention that some terminology was inconsistently used in the article. The GOOD life trial uses a definition of binge drinking of “5 or more drinks on one occasion” in accordance with the ESPAD study [ 2 ].…”