The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth - Alexandra Robbins [203]
FCD Educational Services: Interview, Renee Soulis.
social norms: While most social norms programs are geared toward preventing substance abuse, schools also have used the approach to tackle seat-belt use and sexual assault prevention. Social norms marketing is also the strategy that hotels recently began using to convince guests to reuse towels. Powerhouse social psychologist Robert Cialdini, an Arizona State University professor, conducted a study in several hotels in which he displayed different versions of the “Reuse your towels” message in the bathroom. One placard asked guests to “Help save the environment.” A sign explaining that the majority of hotel guests reuse their towels was 26 percent more effective than the first. A placard stating that the majority of guests in that room, specifically, had reused their towels was nearly 30 percent more effective.
“In every single school”: Ibid.
“an enormously high success rate”: Ibid.
“The middle schoolers”: Ibid. Parent surveys reveal statistics such as the number of parents who are talking to their children about these issues or allowing them to drink at home.
Straight Edge: Note: Some Straight Edge kids also avoid promiscuity and animal products and others debate whether caffeine consumption also qualifies as “breaking edge.” See, for example, Guzowski, Stephanie. “Rutgers students share reasons for becoming Straight Edge,” Daily Targum, November 15, 2006. See also Bartlett, Thomas. “Studying Rock’s Clean, Mean Movement,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 29, 2006.
a movement among punks: See, for example, Valenzuela, Beatriz. “Straight edge: ‘Stay punk, stay clean’ is the anthem they live by,” Daily Press, June 1, 2008.
the group’s symbol: See, for example, Carroll, Ed. “Straight edge lifestyle helps some achieve goals,” The Independent Collegian, January 18, 2007.
school outside of Seattle: These conversations occurred after a lecture I gave based on The Overachievers.
“All parents want their kids”: See Bauman, Lawrence. Ten Most Troublesome Teenage Problems and How to Solve Them, New York: Kensington, 1997.
“When you try to identify”: See Anderegg, David. Nerds, New York: Tarcher, 2007.
“if everyone’s drinking”: Interview.
parents who have negative attitudes: See, for example, Nash, Susan G.; McQueen, A.; and Bray, J. “Pathways to adolescent alcohol use: Family, environment, peer influence, and parental expectations,” Journal of Adolescent Health, Vol. 37, 2005.
“The permissiveness of parents”: See Califano, Joseph Jr. High Society: How Substance Abuse Ravages America and What to Do About It, New York: PublicAffairs, 2007.
“High school kids drink”: See Balko, Radley. “Zero Tolerance Makes Zero Sense,” The Washington Post, August 9, 2005.
underage drinking is harmful: See, for example, Van der Vorst, Haske; Engels, Rutger C. M. E.; and Burk, William J. “Do parents and best friends influence the normative increase in adolescents’ alcohol use at home and outside the home?”, Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, January 1, 2010. See also Fergusson, David M.; Lynskey, Michael T.; and Horwood, L. John. “Childhood exposure to alcohol and adolescent drinking patterns,” Addiction, 1994, 89.
children whose parents allow them to drink: See, for example, Esau, Cecelia A. and Hutchinson, Delyse. “Alcohol Use, Abuse, and Dependence,” Adolescent Addiction: Epidemiology, Assessment and Treatment, Esau, Cecelia A., ed. Burlington, MA, 2008. See also Komro, K. A.; Maldonado-Molina, M. M.; Tobler, A. L.; Bonds, J. R.; and Muller, K. E. “Effects of home access and availability of alcohol on young adolescents’ alcohol use,” Addiction, 2007, 102.
teenagers who don’t drink at home: See, for example, Van der Vorst. See also Abar, Caitlin; Abar, Beau; and Turrisi, Rob. “The impact of parental modeling and permissibility on alcohol use and experienced negative drinking consequences in college,” Addictive Behaviors, Vol. 34, 2009.
much more tolerant of substance