Kennesaw State participates in student alcohol use study

11/8/00 - Kennesaw State University was selected to be in the control group of a nationwide study on the use of alcohol by college students. The study is being coordinated nationally by the Educational Development Center of Newton, Mass., and is being implemented by the KSU Counseling, Advising and Program Services Center and the KSU Chapter of the Golden Key National Honor Society.

Bob Mattox, Director of CAPS and Co-Advisor for the KSU Golden Key Chapter, applied to the EDC for KSU to participate in this important program. Kennesaw State's application was accepted and a random sample of KSU students was surveyed about their alcohol use.

The purpose of the study is to test the effects of a Social Norms Marketing Program on the alcohol use of college students. SNMP is a method of marketing that reports the truth versus reporting a negative, sensationalized version favored by most of today's media. Due to negative publicity, many people may feel that most college students have trouble with alcohol. Such is not the case according to the KSU/EDC study's recently released initial findings.

According to the study, 75 percent of KSU students have three or fewer drinks in a week's time. Sixty three percent have only one or zero drinks during a week's time. Seventy- six percent of KSU students consume four or fewer drinks when they party, and 73 percent of KSU students have three or fewer drinks when on a date. Eighty-three percent of KSU students describe themselves as either abstainers or light drinkers.

These are just a few examples of the findings about KSU students and alcohol use. This information will be used to more accurately inform the KSU community of the about alcohol use by KSU students through a campus-wide marketing program. The program will employ flyers, campus newspaper advertising, table tents in the campus dining room, and other marketing efforts to inform the campus community of the results of the KSU/EDC findings.