Perceived Norms and Alcohol Consumption: Differences Between College Students From Rural and Urban High Schools

Objective: The authors examined perceived norms and drinking among college students who attended high schools in rural and urban communities. Participants and Methods: Undergraduates (99 men and 85 women) who attended high schools in communities with populations ranging from less than 100 to more than 400,000 completed surveys assessing perceived norms and alcohol consumption. Results: Analyses revealed that students from smaller towns and in smaller high school graduating classes reported heavier drinking and that perceived norms were positively associated with drinking. Perceived norms were unrelated to population variables, and the relationship between perceived norms and drinking did not vary as a function of population variables. Results suggest that differences in drinking as a function of coming from more rural areas contribute to drinking behavior in college independently of perceived norms. Conclusions: College students may adjust to campus drinking norms relatively quickly, and longitudinal research would be useful in understanding this transition.     

Do “Clicker” Educational Sessions Enhance the Effectiveness of a Social Norms Marketing Campaign?

Abstract

Objective: Social norms campaigns are a cost-effective way to reduce high-risk drinking on college campuses. This study compares effectiveness of a “standard” social norms media (SNM) campaign for those with and without exposure to additional educational sessions using audience response technology (“clickers”). Methods: American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment questions are used to evaluate actual and perceived use. Additional survey questions assess individual exposure to the interventions. Results: The authors find “clicker” technology to be more effective than social norms poster media alone in reducing misperceptions of normative alcohol use for those students who attended clicker sessions. Conclusion: Poster SNM campaigns may be most effective when supported by group “clicker” heath-related sessions.     

Perceptions of Drinking and Related Findings From the Nationwide Campuses Study

Abstract

Proponents of social norms approaches maintain that correcting misperceptions of alcohol use among college students may reduce drinking and its consequences. The author used aggregate campus-level data from the Nationwide Campuses Study to test this hypothesis. He defined the misperceptions ratio as the ratio of the frequency of the “average student's” perceived alcohol use to the frequency of self-use at each campus. Each of the 57 colleges reported misperceptions ratios greater than unity. At campuses where students had more accurate perceptions of alcohol use, students were more likely to desire alcohol availability at campus events and to drink on more days throughout the year than at campuses where students had greater misperceptions of alcohol use. The author found no data to support the preferential use of social norms programming on campuses with high levels of self-reported alcohol use or binge drinking. These findings raise questions about potentially unexpected and unintended effects of social norms approaches.     

Perceptions of drinking and related findings from the Nationwide Campuses Study

Proponents of social norms approaches maintain that correcting misperceptions of alcohol use among college students may reduce drinking and its consequences. The author used aggregate campus-level data from the Nationwide Campuses Study to test this hypothesis. He defined the misperceptions ratio as the ratio of the frequency of the "average student's" perceived alcohol use to the frequency of self-use at each campus. Each of the 57 colleges reported misperceptions ratios greater than unity. At campuses where students had more accurate perceptions of alcohol use, students were more likely to desire alcohol availability at campus events and to drink on more days throughout the year than at campuses where students had greater misperceptions of alcohol use. The author found no data to support the preferential use of social norms programming on campuses with high levels of self-reported alcohol use or binge drinking. These findings raise questions about potentially unexpected and unintended effects of social norms approaches.     

Correction of normative misperceptions: an alcohol abuse prevention program.

Normative misperception refers to the tendency of college students to misperceive campus drinking norms to be more liberal than they actually are. Initial investigations have demonstrated the effectiveness of normative education on reduction of alcohol use in primary and secondary education settings. This study examined the utility of a group program designed to challenge seventy-one male college students' misperceptions of college drinking norms. Participants were enrolled into either a normative education group or a control group representing traditional alcohol education efforts. Participants in the normative education groups demonstrated more accurate perceptions of campus drinking norms and a significant reduction in consequences of alcohol use while those in the control group did not. Changes in normative perceptions were among the strongest contributors to a function discriminating between those who decreased their drinking and those who did not. Results suggest that normative education may be an effective approach to modifying drinking behaviors.     

Problem drinking among at-risk college students: The examination of Greek involvement,freshman status,and history of mental health problems

ABSTRACT

Objective: Scarce research has examined the combined effect of mental health difficulties and demographic risk factors such as freshman status and Greek affiliation in understanding college problem drinking. The current study is interested in looking at the interaction among freshman status, Greek affiliation, and mental health difficulties. Participants and Methods: Undergraduate students (N = 413) from a private and public Midwestern university completed a large online survey battery between January 2009 and April 2013. Data from both schools were aggregated for the analyses. Results: After accounting for gender, age, and school type, the three-way interaction indicated that the highest drinking levels were reported in freshman students who reported a history of mental health problems although were not involved in Greek life. Conclusions: Findings are discussed in the context of perceived social norms, as well as alcohol-related screenings and intervention opportunities on college campuses.     

Attitudinal and normative predictors of alcohol use by older adolescents and young adults

A model of alcohol use based on the theory of planned behavior, expectancy theory, and the developmental literature on the influence of parents and peers was examined with 87 eleventh grade students, 105 college freshmen, and 107 college juniors. Specifically, the influence of attitudes about the positive and negative consequences of drinking, perceived parental and peer norms about alcohol consumption, and perceived control over drinking predicted self-reported alcohol use. The results suggest that, during adolescence, decisions to consume alcohol are rational, based on the consideration of the positive consequences of alcohol use and perceptions of control over drinking; however, the negative consequences of alcohol use are discounted. While perceived peer norms predicted alcohol consumption in all three age groups, the influence of perceived parental norms varied such that they predicted alcohol use only among the college juniors. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.     

The Efficacy of the Social Norms Approach to Substance Abuse Prevention Applied to Fraternity Men

Abstract

Students tend to overestimate the amount of alcohol consumed among their peers and often drink to that imaginary level. The social norms strategy, designed to correct norm misperceptions, has been correlated with a decrease in reported consumption in the general college population. However, it has had little or no impact among Greek students, the group that consumes the most alcohol. The authors investigated and subsequently found three possible flaws in the application of the social norms strategy that may account for the failure to decrease binge drinking among fraternity men: there is no predominant, healthy drinking norm in this population; students are influenced more by people within their network(s) than by others; and binge drinking is the norm in this group and may serve to perpetuate the problem. The findings, though preliminary, provide the first step in developing interventions beyond the social norms approach to address binge drinking among fraternity men.     

The efficacy of the social norms approach to substance abuse prevention applied to fraternity men

Students tend to overestimate the amount of alcohol consumed among their peers and often drink to that imaginary level. The social norms strategy, designed to correct norm misperceptions, has been correlated with a decrease in reported consumption in the general college population. However, it has had little or no impact among Greek students, the group that consumes the most alcohol. The authors investigated and subsequently found three possible flaws in the application of the social norms strategy that may account for the failure to decrease binge drinking among fraternity men: there is no predominant, healthy drinking norm in this population; students are influenced more by people within their network(s) than by others; and binge drinking is the norm in this group and may serve to perpetuate the problem. The findings, though preliminary, provide the first step in developing interventions beyond the social norms approach to address binge drinking among fraternity men.     

The Role of High School Connections to Colleges in Adolescents' Transitions to Higher Education

With most adolescents now aspiring to graduate from college, assisting students in making the transition has become a key institutional function of high schools. Information about the application process is especially important for college entrance as admissions criteria are localized. Gaining access to information is one of the most important benefits of social capital. This study asks whether high schools with more connections to colleges are more successful in helping their students gain admission to college and, in particular, to selective four-year colleges. This study investigates the effects of having connections to colleges at a high school on students' college entry. This study also shows that actions taken by individual families bring about a contextual effect of a high school on the college selectivity that students attended in the same high school. These effects also mediate the relationship between school socioeconomic composition and enrollment in selective colleges.     

Abstinence and Birth Control Among Rural Adolescents in Impoverished Families: A Test of Theoretical Discriminators

This was a study of 357 adolescents who resided with AFDC families in ten rural counties in Arkansas. The study examined predictors of birth control from sociodemographic variables, control, strain and differential association theories. This was the first theoretically-based investigation of abstinence and birth control among adolescents living with families on welfare in impoverished rural communities. Bivariate analyses indicated that all of the study factors, with the marginal exception of attachment to father, showed significance variance between the three groups of adolescents who had not had sexual intercourse, those who always used birth control, and those who did not always use birth control. The first function of the discriminant analysis discriminated between youth who had not had sexual intercourse and those who were sexually active, and indicated that the former (in order of discrimination) were younger, had fewer sexually active friends or family members, were more religious, had more fear of giving birth if sexually active, and had stronger beliefs in the moral validity of societal laws and norms. The second function discriminated between those who always used birth control and youth who did not always use birth control. The significant discriminators (in order of discrimination) showed that adolescents who always used birth control attended church more often, were more likely to be persons of color than Caucasian, had closer attachments to their mothers, and presently did not desire a baby to love. Social work implications of these findings are discussed from an ecological perspective.     

Rural Students’ Social Capital in the College Search and Application Process

Although the growing mandate for higher education creates challenges for students in rural areas, rural high school graduates currently attend college at a rate similar to their peers in other locale types. Prior research has attributed this accomplishment to family, school, and community social capital, yet the processes through which students translate social capital into educational attainment remain unspecified. This study examines how successful rural students access and engage various forms of social capital during the college search and application process. Analysis of semistructured interviews with 30 college graduates from communities throughout one predominantly rural state showed that family social capital provided most students with generalized support, but college‐specific guidance tended to correlate with parental education and income. Most students benefited from school social capital, primarily through pro‐college climate, peer networks, teachers, guidance counselors, and academic tracking. Students accessed community social capital through supportive youth and adult interactions, extended family ties, and a caring community, but these forms of social capital did not explicitly support the college search process. Although quantitative studies have operationalized family, school, and community social capital as distinct concepts, this study argues that these constructs cannot be disentangled given the interconnectedness of rural families, schools, and communities.     

Social context and adolescent health behavior: does school-level smoking prevalence affect students' subsequent smoking behavior?

This paper examines the links between individual adolescent smoking behavior and actual and perceived smoking behavior in the individual's school cohort. We hypothesized that students enrolled in schools with higher smoking prevalence among students in their grade are more likely to smoke subsequently. We also expected perceived school-level prevalence of smoking to have a greater impact than actual prevalence because the former is a more direct measure of perceived norms. Adjusting for demographics, actual school-level prevalence at baseline (grade 7) was strongly associated with smoking frequency one year later. However, the association disappeared after adjusting for individual smoking frequency at baseline. School-level prevalence did not moderate the association between individual's baseline and subsequent smoking frequency. Perceived prevalence of smoking among grade 8 students and two measures tapping the behavior of smaller peer groups--cigarette offers and exposure to friends and other peers who smoke--were associated with increased risk of smoking.     

Starting to drink: the experiences of Australian lower secondary students with alcohol

This study describes Australian year eight students' (13-14 years old) experiences with alcohol in terms of communication with parents, initiation into drinking, patterns of consumption, context of use, and harms experienced. The sample comprised 521 year eight students from four state government secondary schools in the state of Victoria. Three of the schools are in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria; the fourth is in a rural center. Female and rural students were more likely to talk to parents about alcohol, but this was not associated with safer drinking. Initiation into drinking was higher among rural students. Rural students also drank more, were more likely to drink without adult supervision, to drink to get drunk, and drink more than planned. Student drinkers experienced just over four alcohol-related harms on average in 12 months, with some indication of greater harm among rural students. Higher levels of drinking by rural students, accompanied by more risky patterns of consumption and the possibility of greater harm, supports prioritizing interventions in rural schools.     

Social norms theory-based interventions: testing the feasibility of a purported mechanism of action

Social norms-based interventions targeting college student drinking behaviors have become increasingly popular. Such interventions purportedly modify student misperceptions of fellow student drinking behaviors, which leads to changes in individual drinking behavior. Despite claims of successful interventions, research demonstrating that social norms-based interventions modify student perceptions is lacking. OBJECTIVE: The authors conducted a laboratory experiment examining the feasibility of this mechanism of action and aimed to determine the validity of the campus-specific drinking norms hypothesis. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: The authors randomly assigned 60 students to 1 of 3 research conditions: Alcohol 101 (national drinking norms), a didactic presentation of campus specific drinking norms, or a control condition. RESULTS: Both intervention groups modified student misperceptions regarding peer alcohol use, and these changes were sustained 1 week later. CONCLUSIONS: Social norms-based interventions can contribute to more accurate drinking perceptions among college students.     

Rural Appalachian High School Students’ College‐Going and STEMM Perceptions

The authors examined perceptions of key social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) variables related to college‐going and science, technology, engineering, math, and medical (STEMM) careers in 10th and 11th graders (N = 892) attending 3 rural Appalachian high schools. The authors examined differences in perceptions related to gender, prospective 1st‐generation college student status, and the presence or absence of aspirations to pursue a STEMM career. Young women and young men scored similarly on all but 1 dependent variable, college‐going self‐efficacy (young women scored higher). Students who had STEMM career aspirations had higher scores on every measure than those who did not. Results suggest examining a 3rd prospective 1st‐generation college student status group—students who are unsure of their parents’ education level—as a distinct group in future research. By examining the college‐going and STEMM attitudes of rural Appalachian high school students, this study advances the literature and informs practitioners on reducing educational and vocational inequalities in this region.     

The Role of Social Capital in Educational Aspirations of Rural Youth*

Drawing on a recent national survey of rural high school students, this study investigated the relationship between social capital and educational aspirations of rural youth. Results showed that various process features of family and school social capital were important for predicting rural youths' educational aspirations beyond sociodemographic background. In particular, parents' and teachers' educational expectations for their child and student, respectively, were positively related to educational aspirations of rural youth. In addition, discussion with parents about college was positively related to educational aspirations of rural youth. On the other hand, there was little evidence to suggest that number of siblings and school proportions of students eligible for free lunch and minority students are related to educational aspirations of rural youth, after controlling for the other variables. We highlight unique features of rural families, schools, and communities that may combine to explain the complexity of the role of social capital in shaping educational aspirations of rural youth.     

College students define binge drinking and estimate its prevalence: results of a national survey

Data from the 1999 College Alcohol Study were used to examine how students define the term binge drinking, to determine how much binge drinking the students think exists on their campuses, and to analyze how students' estimates compare with aggregated self-reports of student drinking. The findings indicate that the median of the students' definitions of binge drinking is 6 drinks in a row for men and 5 for women, 1 drink higher than the definition used by researchers. Students' definitions of binge drinking vary with their own drinking levels, suggesting that dissenting views of the research definition may represent voices of the heaviest drinkers. At the median, students estimated that 35% of all students were binge drinkers. Half (47%) of the students underestimated the binge drinking rate at their school, 29% overestimated it, and 13% were accurate. Although programs designed to reduce the frequency or prevalence of binge drinking by emphasizing healthier norms would be most useful in addressing binge drinkers who overestimate drinking norms, this group includes only 13% of college students.     

Relations between physical activity and behavioral and perceptual correlates among midwestern college students

OBJECTIVE: Given the inconsistent findings in the literature, the authors' purpose in this study was to examine the associations between physical activity and behavioral and perceptional correlates, such as binge drinking, cigarette smoking, fruit or vegetable consumption, and weight perceptions, among midwestern college students. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: The authors invited a convenience sample of 1,200 undergraduate college students enrolled in the 2004-2005 academic year in 4 different midwestern universities to participate in a survey. Of the 1,163 students who participated in the survey, a total of 1,134 usable surveys were received (response rate of 94.5%). RESULTS: Hierarchical multiple logistic regression analyses indicated that smoking, perceived weight, and consumption of fruit were independent predictors of physical activity when controlling for other variables. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity promotion requires tailored approaches that are dependent on the target segment of the college student populations.