Mānoa Alcohol Project : service learning, social norms and alcohol abuse prevention

College heavy episodic drinking, or binge drinking is a serious and chronic young adult health problem in the United States. Heavy episodic drinking is also associated with college students falling behind in schoolwork and an overall lower grade point average. The Mānoa Alcohol Project (MAP) is a service learning program that seeks to reduce high-risk alcohol use at the University of Hawai\u27i at Mānoa (UHM). There are two major objectives of the MAP program. The first objective is to present accurate norms and education about alcohol use on campus and the second is to reduce the harmful consequences of alcohol abuse among UHM undergraduate students. Research has shown that campus-wide educational strategies to reduce high-risk alcohol use behaviors among college students should incorporate accurate information regarding alcohol use norms. These evidence-based norms are then widely distributed, or marketed to correct students\u27 perceived over estimation of their peers alcohol consumption and the underestimation of students protective alcohol use behaviors. As a result, the MAP program incorporates the principles of social norms theory into a campus-wide alcohol education social norms marketing campaign, specifically designed to target the undergraduate student population. UHM service learning students working with the MAP program to put social norms theory into practice by providing alcohol education outreach to the campus community. The service learners work throughout the school year to develop and implement several campus-wide social norms marketing poster campaigns. These creative data-driven educational campaigns promote healthy decision-making related to alcohol and other substance use and encourage students to achieve college success. Multi-year evaluation data shows that MAP\u27s social norms marketing campaigns successfully contribute to an increase in healthier behaviors related to alcohol use and a decrease in negative health consequences of excessive alcohol consumption among UHM students. This interactive conference presentation will showcase implementation strategies and educational materials created for the MAP social norms marketing campaigns. The presentation will also demonstrate how conference participants can utilize service learning and social norms marketing campaigns on their own university campuses, as a means of contributing to the well-being and academic success of their college student population