General News

Numerous studies have shown that misuse of alcohol by college students in the U.S. is a pervasive problem. Most of what is known about consumption levels is based on self-report survey data, which assumes that students are aware of and can accurately calculate how much alcohol they consume. A study in the September issue of […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 30, 2002 Helena – An innovative CD-ROM that will assist Montana students in learning about traffic laws and safety was sent to every middle and high school in Montana during October. Funded by the Montana Department of Transportation, the “Montana Rules” CD-ROM is a fast-paced and engaging animated game about road […]

Contrary to news reports, Montana’s MOST of Us campaigns were never part of an evaluation conducted by a Harvard University researcher. The Associated Press has publicly retracted the misinformation printed in recent headlines, and an opportunity exists to further correct this misperception and set the record straight. The Harvard study, already criticized by researchers for […]

Challenging College Alcohol Abuse (CCAA) uses social norms marketing and environmental management strategies to reduce heavy and high-risk drinking and drug use among college students. This highly effective program has been designated a “model program” by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention SAMHSA Model Programs: Effective Substance Abuse […]

AberdeenNews.com By Elissa Grossell American News Writer Students don’t respond well to scare tactics. Good intentions; bad science. That’s how Jeff Linkenbach assessed those who use the “fear factor” to try to stop risky behavior in youth. Linkenbach, director of the Montana Social Norms Project, was in Aberdeen Monday at Northern State University and Tuesday […]

By CHARLES S. JOHNSON Lee State Bureau HELENA — Montana voters strongly back a law to ban open containers of alcoholic beverages in motor vehicles, a recent statewide poll commissioned by the Montana Contractors Association for a coalition of groups shows. The poll found 67 percent of Montana voters support banning open containers, while 28 […]

By Stacy Nickz The Coloroadoan Peer pressure. Media influence. Normal teenage rebellion. The reasons young people drink — some to their deaths — are almost as elusive as ways to stop it. More than 7 million children ages 12 to 17 admitted drinking at least once last year, and 2.7 million of those said they […]

Parents’ approaches to drinking differ from house to house By Pat Ferrier The Coloradon Samantha Spady never intended to drink herself to death. With a blood-alcohol level four times the legal limit for driving, the 19-year-old Colorado State University student didn’t know she could die from drinking too much, Spady’s mother, Patty Spady, said in […]

By Nikolaus Olsen The Coloradoan Almost half of Colorado State University freshmen reported they did not drink alcohol at all in the past year and partied an average of an hour or less each week. Results of CSU freshman survey • Didn’t drink beer at all in 2004: 44 percent at CSU, 56 percent nationally […]

Perkins’ Stance on Social Norms Receives Much Media Coverage new report has been released by the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study saying that attempts to curb binge drinking on campuses through social norms programming have failed. Henry Wechsler, the director of the Harvard study, said he surveyed drinking patterns on 98 campuses, […]