Term paper online on Masculinity and Young Men’s Health

Social norms marketing campaigns hold promise for addressing a variety of health concerns relevant to men, including men’s incorrect perception that most men are unconcerned about their health.

As an example of possible cognitive techniques that may be used for changing the thinking and behavior of the alcohol drinkers I would suggest to mention the figures of alcohol-related mortality in the integrated social marketing campaign, such as: “Almost 54 percent were from diseases attributed to chronic alcohol abuse; the rest were intentional or unintentional injury deaths. Two-thirds of the alcohol-related deaths were of males. Alcoholic men have a mortality rate that is two to six times higher than that of the average male.”

Then the information about the possible diseases and injuries connected with alcohol consumption should be mentioned: ”˜Alcohol abuse increases the risk of cancer at several sites. Most notably, abuse is responsible for 75 percent of the deaths from cancer of the esophagus and 50 percent of those from cancer of the larynx and the lip/oral cavity/pharynx. It also contributes to cardiovascular, respiratory and digestive system diseases and to fatal mental disorders. Alcohol impairs physical and psychological functioning. It lessens visual acuity, diminishes motor control, slows reflexes and increases risk taking.’ (Courtenay ,2004)

Then in accordance to the principles of the social cognitive approach, the social skills training should be made. It means that individuals will be taught to behave in a different way, for instance they will be told that the substance use may be overcome and a lot depends on the persons perception and self control.

This kind of training aims to form the skills and motivation to allow drug and alcohol abusers to improve their functioning in social situations. It’s tremendously important instrument, because once the abusers are in the certain social situations they may subject to repeat of the previous pattern of the unhealthy behavior. So the goal is to suggest the new pattern, new behavioral options for the certain risky situations.  ”˜At the root of many high-risk situations identified by substance abusers is a difficulty in interacting positively with other individuals (e.g., interpersonal conflict, social pressure). Enhancement of this skill is thought to have positive implications for maintaining substance use goals.’ (Courtenay, 2004)