TY - JOUR PY - 2017// TI - Evaluation of a social norms approach to a suicide prevention campaign JO - Journal of health communication A1 - Silk, Kami J. A1 - Perrault, Evan K. A1 - Nazione, Samantha A. A1 - Pace, Kristin A1 - Collins-Eaglin, Jan SP - 135 EP - 142 VL - 22 IS - 2 N2 - Suicide is a leading cause of death for college-aged youth, and university counseling centers (UCC) strive to educate students about mental health issues and available campus services. The current research evaluates a college campus social norms campaign that used both peer and celebrity sources to promote help seeking among college students as a suicide prevention strategy. Postcampaign surveys of this quasi-experiment (n = 391) revealed that compared to students in the control neighborhood condition, students exposed to the campaign messages in the experimental neighborhood conditions were more likely to perceive students would refer a friend to the UCC and more likely to visit the UCC for a mental health concern. Students living in the intervention neighborhood with a peer message source reported a greater willingness to refer friends to the UCC compared to those who lived in the celebrity and control neighborhoods. Regardless of condition, students who reported seeing UCC messages reported greater effects than those who reported not viewing the messages (e.g., greater intentions to seek help and to talk to others about the UCC).

RESULTS of this study are discussed within a social norms framework and support the need for continued exposure to campaign messages to impact health outcomes.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1081-0730 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2016.1258742 ID - ref1 ER -