New study shows how one message can change a young person’s
behavior
They say words can change the world. According to a recent study in
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one message can impact
young people’s behavior tremendously.
Dr. Megan A. Moreno, lead author of the study, located 190 public MySpace
profiles for individuals between the ages of 18 and 20 that included at least
three references to sexual behaviors or substance abuse, including alcohol and
tobacco. Using the title, “Dr.
Meg” she sent a message to half of these profiles making the owner aware that
someone that they didn’t know was able to see their information and asking
whether they thought that was a good idea.
The profiles were checked three months after the message was
sent and 42.1 percent of the individuals who had received the email had either
dropped the references to sex and substance abuse or switched their profile
setting to private, so only their friends were able to see it.
Only 29.5 percent of people who didn’t receive the message made these
changes to their profile.
Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center
on Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital Boston, noted the
impact that one message could have in changing the behavior of these young
people. “It brought them up a
little bit short to see ‘someone out there is actually paying attention to what
I am doing.” This new awareness prompted the young people who had received the
message to make a positive change in how they presented themselves on the
Internet.
A similar approach is often used to address drinking problems
among youth. Over the past 25
years, research has shown that brief interventions can be effective for
treating some alcohol use disorders without the need for further clinical
intervention and can resolve mild to moderate alcohol problems.
One program that effectively uses the principles of brief
intervention by raising awareness and encouraging young people make positive
changes, is the National Alcohol Screening Day® (NASD) program. NASD
focuses on helping individuals to explore their relationship with alcohol and
to provide resources for further assistance should it be warranted. The program features the use of a written screening form that the
participant completes as well as the opportunity to speak with a clinician
about their screening results and receive referral information. The screening with referral information is also available online so that
it can be accessed 24/7.
The primary participants of the program are college students
and military personnel. Last year
the program was presented at 539 colleges and universities and 101 military
units and installations reaching over 26,000 people through both in-person
events and online screening.
NASD is a program of the non-profit Screening for
Mental Health®. To learn more about the program please visit
www.MentalHealthScreening.org.