A Theoretical Framework
for Demand Reduction --
Summary of Presentations
Co-Moderators: Dr. Hoover Adger Jr., and Dr. Roberto Tapla-Conyer
Public Awareness, the Media,
and Information Dissemination
Mr. Daniel Schecter
Assistant Deputy Director/Acting Deputy Director,
Office of Demand Reduction,
Office of National Drug Control Policy, USA
Mr. Schecter first outlined the National Anti-Drug Youth Media Campaign, a program he predicted would change the landscape of the drug problem in the United States. Over the past 15 to 16 years, he stated, the U.S. has cut the rate of drug use in the general population by half. Cocaine use has been reduced by over two-thirds, he claimed; however, some rates of drug use began to increase in 1991 and 1992. For example, he pointed out that marijuana use, while still well below its historically highest levels, tripled among eighth graders between 1991 and 1996. Starting in 1991, there was also a reduction in children's perceived risk of their drug use. This has been described as a kind of "generational forgetting," Mr. Schecter noted -- that is, each new generation has to relearn the lessons of the previous generation.
Each new generation has to relearn the lessons of the previous generation.
Mr. Schecter claimed that there has been a marked decrease in the frequency of anti-drug public service announcements in the mass media. Fewer ads are being shown on TV, he said, and these ads are less likely to be shown during prime time. Related to this, he assailed the increasingly benign attitude toward drug use in movies and on TV. He further noted that within two blocks of the conference hotel, one could buy T-shirts featuring marijuana leaves.
To combat these forces, Mr. Schecter offered the words of novelist Flannery O'Connor: "Sometimes it is necessary to push very hard against the age in which you live." The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign is intended to do just that, he argued, noting that the U.S. Congress appropriated $195 million for this campaign in 1998. He stressed that this campaign not be viewed as a one-time initiative, but as part of a long-term, five-year effort. It affirms, in his view, on a nonpartisan basis, that prevention can and does work. This campaign focuses on children ages 9 to 18. The group experts agree that this should be the major target. Sixty percent of ONDCP's resources are directed toward this group, he noted, with the other 40 percent directed toward parents and other adults who influence youth. The goal, he claimed, is to make drugs less acceptable and to increase the perception of their risk.
Mr. Schecter noted that this is the first paid anti-drug media campaign on such a large scale in U.S. history. It is also the product of a public-private sector partnership. As he explained, the Partnership for a Drug Free America together with the Advertising Council are providing the ads on a cost-free basis in cooperation with the networks, magazines, and newspapers.
Mr. Schecter praised the extensive planning that has gone into this effort, noting that 30 youth-focus panels and the nation's leading researchers in prevention and communications advised ONDCP on how to structure this campaign. It is a truly comprehensive effort in that it includes the Internet, where pro-drug messages are so often seen. Other mass media, billboards, magazines, classrooms -- every type of media that can have impact -- are included as well.
As Mr. Schecter explained, the first part of the campaign, a test phase limited to 12 cities, began in January 1998; the campaign will go national in July 1998. He concluded by showing film clips of the campaign's content in English and Spanish.
Ms. Carmen Millé
Director of Information and Training,
National Council on Addictions (CONADIC),
Ministry of Health, Mexico
Ms. Millé described Mexican efforts to utilize mass media to deter drug abuse. As she explained, the group CONADIC is trying to reach is a very large one: all those at risk of potentially engaging in the social and experimental use of drugs. Its goal, she claimed, is to get those persons to decide not to try drugs.
The message itself must be coherent and adhere to the values and norms of the individual's social group.
Ms. Millé pointed out that the decision to try drugs has both rational and nonrational behavioral components. Rationally, she commented, knowledge, prior experience, observation, the environment, and personal analysis all play a role in weighing the advantages and disadvantages of drug use, including possible gratification and harm that may result from use. She noted that, unfortunately, nonrational components also enter into the drug-use decision, including aspects that are termed social representations: the assumptions, prejudices, beliefs, and expectations of the potential user's group and the social traditions of that group. Nonrational components are the most important factors in making the drug-use decision, she noted; therefore messages concerning drug use must include both rational and nonrational aspects. She also argued that prevention programs in schools, the community, and the family -- in all areas of social coherence -- must take both the rational and nonrational aspects into account.
According to Ms. Millé, the message itself must be coherent and adhere to the values and norms of the individual's social group. It must also be congruent with the behavioral patterns and lifestyle of the individual because these aspects are relevant to the anticipated benefits of drug use. She further claimed that the message source must have credibility and moral authority, given the involvement of nonrational concepts. For this reason, she stated, the target population must be well defined, specific, and very interested in the problem.
Ms. Millé stressed that drugs are of wide interest, and the product we sell through media campaigns must maintain the interest of the consumer. Thus, the channels used to address drug abuse must be multiple, and there must be more than just one message in the media. She maintained that different mechanisms such as face-to-face prevention efforts that include outreach and other means of reaching the target population are needed. If the message meets these criteria, she claimed, it will focus more attention on the issue and achieve a greater level of awareness among the intended groups. Further, if the target groups' expectations are positive, and positive attitudes, behaviors, and customs are reinforced, a slight change may be expected. However, if these groups have negative expectations, she noted that two things may happen: there may be open rejection of the message because it was not clearly conveyed, or the message may be blocked because the recipients do not associate it with anything they expected from the media.
Ms. Millé cited some data from a survey by the Mexican Institute of Psychiatry in Mexico City dealing with middle school students' social perceptions of marijuana and cocaine. As she explained, only 2 percent of this student cohort felt that marijuana use was not dangerous; the remainder felt it was either dangerous or very dangerous. Similarly, only 1 percent perceived heroin and inhalants as not dangerous. The majority of the students surveyed perceived that their parents, teachers, and other adults, felt students should not use drugs (94 to 98 percent). Further, most peers and best friends (87.5 percent) considered it bad to use drugs. Given these generally negative perceptions that drug use is dangerous and undesirable, Ms. Millé noted that campaigns that further strengthen this perception are desirable. Such campaigns can also emphasize to youth that their peers strongly disapprove of drug use.
