Positive Community Norms (PCN)

What are Positive Community Norms (PCN)?

As a society, we obsess over the negatives: problems, risks, and dangers which can be shameful and create stigma. Positive Community Norms approach aims to improve community health by changing the language we use to empower one another by identifying positive behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions rather than highlighting the negatives.

Misperceptions

Let’s put it in terms that are easily understandable:

• Youth who perceive that the majority of their peers drink, smoke, or use a substance are more likely to do the same.
• Parents who believe most youth drink may be less likely to take protective actions with their own child.
• School leaders who believe most children drink may consider underage drinking a “rite of passage” and be unwilling to adopt appropriate policies.
• Law enforcement who believe the community condones underage drinking may be less likely to enforce underage drinking laws.

PCN focuses on closing the gap between these types of misperceptions of norms and actual norms across society. Adolescents may show an increased willingness to engage in healthier, safer behaviors if the positive is highlighted.

Positive Neurobiological Effects

Training our brains to think positively not only feels good but has long-lasting effects on our mental and physical health:

• Our thoughts can physically change the structure and function of our brains. When we intentionally focus on positive experiences, our brain rewires itself. It strengthens neural pathways associated with optimism, resilience, and well-being.
• Happy thoughts and positive thinking support brain growth.
• When we think positively, our cortisol levels decrease. Cortisol is a stress hormone, and lower levels contribute to a sense of calm and well-being.
• Positive thinking boosts serotonin production. Serotonin is associated with feelings of happiness, focus, and stability.

 

Learn more about Positive Community Norms from the Montana Institute here.

 

PCN in Our Communities

Throughout the 2024/2025 school year, we have worked with Tewksbury and Billerica Public School Districts to implement Positive Community Norm Campaigns.

At the Wynn Middle School in Tewksbury, we developed a student safety survey after discussing the challenges students were having with cyberbullying. All students took this survey during their health education classes. Based on the data, we worked with administration, school resource officers, and health teachers to choose 3 statistics that we believed would be the most impactful to the student population. We then rolled out a PCN poster contest that allowed students to choose the statistic that they thought would be the most impactful and create a visual representation showcasing the positive community norm. Students did a wonderful job with this contest, and we had many extremely creative submissions!

PCN Poster Contest Directions:

PCN Poster Contest Winners:

At the Marshall Middle School in Billerica, we worked with the Peer Leaders, a group of about 20 student representatives in the 7th grade. We met with these students to see what their biggest concern was with their student population. The Peer Leaders decided to use vaping as our primary focus for our PCN campaign. We used data from the YRBS (Youth Risk Behavior Survey) that the middle school had taken in 2023. The statistic we decided upon was “88% of middle school students are making healthy decisions by not vaping”. The Peer Leaders designed a visual representation of this statistic and we voted on the 3 images that we liked the best. We then took these images and created posters and stickers to distribute among the school, as well as within the community at businesses, recreation centers, restaurants, libraries, etc. Our goal was that this message would continue to influence middle schoolers to make better decisions and avoid vaping all throughout the summer!

PCN Designs 1, 2, and 3: