In Haddam-Killingworth, most teens don’t use marijuana BUT THERE IS A MISPERCEPTION BY MANY TEENS IN THE COMMUNTIY THAT THEY DO. A social norms research based marketing campaign will aim to correct this misperception in the community starting in April and will continue throughout the summer. The slogan “Where Do YOU Stand?” will be seen often on posters placed in locations throughout the school and the community for the next few months.
The posters are only one part of the Haddam – Killingworth’s Healthy Communities-Healthy Kids Coalition Social Norms Campaign. In addition, there will be a parent focus which will inform adults that most youth report that their parents would think it is wrong to use marijuana. This adult focus portion of the campaign encourages and reminds adults to speak to their child about marijuana use.
All of the facts that will be featured on the posters are results of the 2012 H-K Search Institute, Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behavior youth survey conducted by the Healthy Communities-Healthy Kids Coalition. These facts will be featured on billboards, banners, stickers, table tents, and other promotional items. The campaign will be featured on billboards on Route 154 beginning in May 2013
Over 800 H-K youth in grades 7-12 participated in this anonymous survey to share the truth about their drug and alcohol use. However, for this campaign only results from grades 9-12 were used. They also shared their perceptions of their classmates’ use of drugs and alcohol. The full survey results can be found at www.hc-hk.org.
Kathryn Glendon, Prevention Coordinator, at Youth & Family Services of Haddam-Killingworth, Inc. states, “We are excited to launch this campaign which was driven by our own H-K high school students and coalition members. We hope this campaign helps to change the misperceptions students might have about their peer’s marijuana use and we hope that parents begin a conversation about marijuana use with their child. The community is encouraged to go on the coalition’s website and Facebook to learn more about how to keep their teens safe.”
The social norms messages will feature positive statistics about H-K students which illustrate that most students make healthy choices with respect to marijuana use. 70% of H-K youth have not used marijuana in the past 30 days and 84% of H-K youth think their parents would say it’s wrong to use marijuana.
For more information visit our website www.hc-hk.org;follow our blog www.hchkcoalition.wordpress.com or find us on Facebook
