As previous research has shown, alcohol use is prevalent among college students and designing prevention strategies to reach college students is a goal of many public health and university officials. A recent study recorded student reactions to loss frame messages (that highlighted negative consequences of binge drinking) and gain frame messages (emphasized benefits of not drinking or drinking in moderation).
This study included over 100 college students who met in focus groups to read scripts for potential alcohol reduction video messages. They were asked to compare the effects of loss and gain frame alcohol messages and the acceptability of many examples. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected to measure students’ reactions.
The results showed that focus groups of college students could be very useful in developing alcohol interventions for college students. Overall, students’ ratings of the loss and gain framed scripts were not significantly different, but they did agree that loss frame messages emphasized negative consequences of drinking while gain frame highlighted positive effects of drinking in moderation—both of which were intended.
Take Away: College students can provide useful insight in developing alcohol prevention messages to reduce binge drinking. Overall, loss and gain frame approaches to developing such messages are both seen as acceptable content for these types of messages.
Carlson, G.C., Duckworth, M.P. (2019). The Development of Video Messages to Reduce Binge Drinking: Focus Group Results. Alcohol and Alcoholism. doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agz001.