Perceptions of drinking and related findings from the Nationwide Campuses Study.

Full 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.

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Author information

Author/s: Licciardone, John C (JC);

Affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth 76107, USA. jlicciar(-atsign-)hsc.unt.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Journal: Journal of American college health : J of ACH (J Am Coll Health), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-May; vol 51 (issue 6) : pp 238-45

Dates: Created 2003/09/26; Completed 2003/10/17; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 14510026, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Perception

Prevalence
Questionnaires
Risk-Taking
Social Values
Students - psychology; statistics & numerical data
United States
Universities

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