Many students, especially those who drank alcohol during high school, enter college eager to experiment with drinking, while others are opposed to drinking. Students’ desire to fit in can affect their decisions when it comes to consuming alcohol. It has been found that students knowing the risks of alcohol consumption, such as death, assault, academic problems, and more, is not enough to discourage students who are determined to drink. This article uses Taylor’s six-segment message strategy wheel to have participants evaluate a series of statements to discover which message strategy resonated best with nondrinking students to remain nondrinkers.
Taylor’s six-segment message strategy was used; three of the messages fit a transmission or rational view, and the remaining three fit a more ritual or emotional view. The rational views consisted of statements such as “In a cost/benefit analysis, drinking is just not worth it.” An example of a more ritual/emotional view would be, “By not drinking, I can stay true to my values.” There was a total of 40 participants, and all were full-time undergraduate students, ages 18 to 25, and identified as nondrinkers. Eight focus groups were held, each containing usually six to ten participants. The students were presented with each of the six messages and asked to comment on whether the message resonated with them or not.
The study showed that the rational message strategies were the most helpful for them to maintain their values and continue to be a nondrinker. Nondrinkers stress the negative consequences of drinking behavior to help them avoid drinking, such as expense, poor academic performance, health, and physical safety. They also stated that avoiding these negative consequences secured them in their decision not to drink. Although the students were firm in their nondrinking decision, they still did not want to stand out in social settings as a nondrinker. This study helped highlight the need to provide support to nondrinkers.
Takeaway: Nondrinkers find that rational message strategies are the best to help maintain their values and being a nondrinker. Although nondrinking students were firm in their nondrinking decision they still did not want to stand out in social settings as a nondrinker.