The Rethink campaign to reduce the normalization of prescription stimulant misuse on college campuses

摘要

The illegal use of prescription stimulants has become an established health risk among thecollege student population. To address this phenomenon, a student-driven campaigninformed was developed, implemented, and evaluated on a college campus. The Rethinkcampaign involved traditional, print, and social media, aswell as in-person events. To test theeffectiveness of campaign messages, college students (N = 251) at an experimental site(n = 187) completed surveys before and after the campaign. Comparisonswere made betweenpretest and posttest assessments, as well as to a control group (n = 64) of college students notexposed to the campaign. The Rethink campaign resulted in more negative attitudes towardprescription stimulant misuse, as well as decreased perceptions of descriptive norms. Practicalimplications for intervention designers and researchers are discussed in light of both thecampaign’s successes and failures.