Chairmans Blog - Social Norms. What are they?

What is a Social Norm?
 
This is a new way of addressing a wide range of negative behaviours among young people...It works by challenging the misconceptions about what is normal within a peer group and regularly telling the group about its actual healthier normal behaviour - and by doing so, shifts in normal behaviour can be achieved!
 
In doing so it is a proactive system; hopefully amending behaviour and preventing harm - rather than more traditional methods which rely on reacting to problems already occurred via addiction therapy or EHC treatment etc.
 
It's also different to the other preventative methods that rely on scaring people - which often prove a failure as people get used to the horror stories and stop taking notice.
 
I had a demonstration of this at a recent meeting of the South Tyneside Sexual Health Partnership Group where this system is being used to challenge some of the behaviour exhibited by young people...as young people often overestimate their friends/peers attitudes towards sex, alcohol, tobacco and drugs and like to conform...
 
It works by designing a survey and asking young people direct questions about their behaviour and attitudes. Once "normal" is worked out for that group of people (using the collected data), the information is communicated back to them in a positive way...to reduce numbers of people likely to take risks and challenge those that are taking risks - as they are now the ones who aren't conforming to the social norm...

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