Accentuate The Positive

A new study is adding more fuel to the argument that “Just Say No” doesn’t work. When it comes to drug prevention for teens and preteens, it can be tempting to take a hard line, but a new study shows that anti-drinking ads which employ scare tactics or guilt may produce the opposite effect in young people, and can actually increase the likelihood of binge drinking, according to a report on BehavioralHealthCentral.com.

The questionnaire-based study involved 1,200 undergrads who viewed the negative ads and then were interviewed afterward. Surprisingly, researchers found that the students were more likely to report that they might engage in binge-drinking behaviors after viewing the ads than they had been before.

Why the Reverse Effect?

Why are these ads having the reverse impact on impressionable teens? Researchers theorize that ads showing negative consequences like people being violently ill after drinking or the consequences of an alcohol-related car accident, may trigger a defensive coping mechanism that makes those viewing the images feel like those same consequences only happen to other people and won’t ever happen to them.

Scare tactics have long been a favorite of adults hoping to curb unwanted behavior, but it turns out that if pushed too far, teens (and all of us, for that matter) simply shut down, refusing to process or remember what they’ve been shown.

So will this impact future ad campaigns aimed at teens? Only time will tell if positivity will prevail. The study will be published in the April 2010 issue of the Journal of Marketing Research.

Teen Drug Rehab

If someone you love is in need of teen drug rehab, call The Canyon at our toll-free number. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.