Author: Hannah Wilk
Major: Criminal Justice
Approved: Fall 2019
Status: Completed
Previous research indicates that in general, college students recognize that texting and driving is a problem but continue to engage in this behavior. The current project builds on a content analysis of anti-smoking and pro-seat-belt use campaigns with an eye towards what makes such campaigns effective. From this, and a review of the literature, anti-texting and driving posters were developed. Feedback to the posters was solicited via a focus group interview at a small, liberal arts college in Southwest Virginia; subsequent edits were made to reflect what college students find to be most effective in preventing this behavior. This project was informed by the success of MADD, and both theories of deviance, and public health behavioral theories, to better understand the phenomenon of texting and driving.
