[Prevention] Q: What if my community's already planning a mock death event, and they're really excited about it?

Mon May 5 11:39:16 EDT 2008

I wonder how many of us are dealing with this same question! Mock car crashes are extremely popular, and we don't want to alienate community partners. Educating coalition members about why scare tactics don't work is not an overnight process-- especially if the events are already planned or underway.  Does anyone have advice on how they are dealing with this very issue?  I've pasted excerpts from an email exchange with another prevention professional that I thought might be a useful conversation starter.  Please let me know if you have any thoughts or insights on this challenging topic.  Thanks! - Erica Schmitz, MESAP/21 Reasons, Medical Care Development

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Sent: Fri 5/2/2008 5:03 PM
To: Erica Schmitz
Subject: Re: Beware! Sales pitches for town hall events

Erica:

So what would you say to an engaged group of people who are really interested in doing a mock car crash event (Every 15 minutes)-after you have said:
-gee, I've got some concerns about this way to go, based on the research, and my general concern about emotional appeals, and
-let's take a look at what the experience has been in other places and sort out the amount of effort and energy it will take.

Can a case be made for a mock car crash within the context of a broader range of on-going information, education and skill building activities for youth and parents?  Is it value added because it engages people? Or is it, in the end, an activity to be discouraged at all costs?

Life would be simpler if only my world were a little more black and white...........   ; >)

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From: Erica Schmitz
Sent: Sat 5/3/2008 9:52 AM
Subject: RE: Beware! Sales pitches for town hall events

It's a tough call.  On the one hand, these types of events can help to draw attention and get people worked up over the issue, so you may be able to then channel that energy into working on solutions (Last year, one community used a mock car crash event as an attention-grabber with a school assembly afterwards and a town meeting that night, which seemed to work for them).  On the other hand, there is some chance that the whole "thrill" of it might do more harm than good.

At the very least, if your community has its heart set on doing a grim reaper day or mock car crash, you can try to make sure that it somehow helps to support your other efforts by drawing attention to evidence-based solutions such as parental monitoring, law enforcement, and reducing access.  

You can also try to make sure that the message doesn't end up being "drink responsibly" - i.e. drink, just don't drink and drive.

Here is a statistic that can help to put it in perspective for community partners and the media:

Only one-third of underage drinking deaths involve auto crashes. The remaining two-thirds involve alcohol poisoning, homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries such as burns, drowning, and falls.

>From http://camy.org/factsheets/index.php?FactsheetID=7 <http://mail.mcd.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://mail.mcd.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://camy.org/factsheets/index.php?FactsheetID=7> :

		Three teens are killed each day when they drink alcohol and drive.1 At least six more die every day from other alcohol-related causes.2 

		1.     National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts 2003 (Washington, DC: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, U.S. Department of Transportation, 2005), table 79. 

		2.       Calculated using Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) data, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data include only deaths for ages 15 to 20. M. Stahre of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, e-mail to David H. Jernigan, PhD, 20 December 2005. 

Hope that helps.  Let me know how it goes, and good luck!

Erica

________________________________

From: Erica Schmitz
Sent: Wed 4/30/2008 3:19 PM
Subject: Beware! Sales pitches for town hall events

Dear Town Hall Meeting organizers,

Like us, you may be receiving sales pitches from for-profit groups that have found your contact info on SAMHSA's Town Hall Meetings website.  Beware!  We recently received a sales call from a company promoting their "high impact alcohol awareness program."  We just received their marketing materials in our office today, and after reviewing them it is clear that "high impact" is another way of saying "scare tactics."  

In case you are getting pressure from community members to include some shock value in your town hall meeting, here are some notes about scare tactics:

We all know that "scare tactic" approaches such as mock car crashes, tragic stories of loss, and gory images can be popular, well-meaning events that often get a lot of attention from communities and media, and may make a strong impression with youth.  However, research has shown that this initial impression does not lead to behavior change, and in some cases scare tactics have been shown to increase the harmful behaviors they are trying to prevent.   

Why don't scare tactics work?  In some cases, the scare tactics are so extreme that the audience sees the message as unrealistic.  In other cases, even though we might understand the message that something is dangerous or harmful, we still have a tendency to think, "That would never happen to me."  Sometimes, scare tactics may actually desensitize us and create an impression in our minds that these dangers and tragedies are "normal."  And for people that are thrill-seekers and like to live on the edge, scare tactics can actually make a behavior more appealing.  

For more information and research on scare tactics, please visit the following websites to read recent articles and summaries:  

 "Scared Straight: Why to Avoid Scare Tactics," from Prevention Forum, Summer, Vol. 26, No. 3, 2006:
www.prevention.org/ForumMagazine/documents/ScaredStraight.pdf <http://www.prevention.org/ForumMagazine/documents/ScaredStraight.pdf> 

"Research - Fear Appeals," from the National Social Norms Research Center:
www.socialnorm.org/Research/FearAppeals.php <http://www.socialnorm.org/Research/FearAppeals.php> 

 "Beyond the Mock Car Crash," from Students Against Destructive Decisions:
www.sadd.org/newsletter/07News_winter_mockcrash.pdf <http://www.sadd.org/newsletter/07News_winter_mockcrash.pdf> 

 "Don't Do It! Ineffective Prevention Strategies," from the Colorado Department of Education:
www.cde.state.co.us/cdeprevention/download/pdf/Ineffective_Damaging_Strategies.pdf <http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeprevention/download/pdf/Ineffective_Damaging_Strategies.pdf> 

Sometimes it can be a delicate balance between using scare tactics and simply presenting the facts (which are scary).  If you have any questions or would simply like to commiserate about all the sales calls you've been getting, please give us a call. 

Sincerely,

Erica, Emily, and Jo

MESAP & 21 Reasons

Medical Care Development, Inc.

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Erica Schmitz, MPP

Director, MESAP & 21 Reasons

Medical Care Development, Inc.
107 Elm Street, Suite 300
Portland ME 04101

Office: (207) 773-7737

Cell: (207) 899-5130

Email: eschmitz at mcd.org <mailto:eschmitz at mcd.org> 

MESAP is Maine's Environmental Substance Abuse Prevention Center.  We provide training, technical assistance, and tools for communities to translate into practice the latest research in environmental prevention.  For more information about our services, visit www.mcd.org/MESAP.asp <file://www.mcd.org/MESAP.asp> .

21 Reasons is a coalition of individuals, organizations, and businesses with a common goal: to build a healthy community environment with policies, practices, and attitudes that support the drug-free development of all youth. Please join us! For more information, visit www.21reasons.org <file://www.21reasons.org/> .