NCJ Number
197597
Journal
Journal of Drug Education Volume: 32 Issue: 3 Dated: 2002 Pages: 227-244
Editor(s)
Robert M. Huff M.P.H,
Michael V. Kline M.P.H,
James Robinson ED.D.
Date Published
2002
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study attempted to assess the effects of a social norm feedback campaign on the perceived drinking norms and drinking behavior of Division I student-athletes addressing an important methodological problem seen in many of the previous social norm intervention studies.
Abstract
National studies of college student alcohol use have documented that student-athletes consume more alcohol and experience more adverse consequences than do non-athletes. The social norms theory has become a widely used framework in understanding alcohol abuse among college students for the implementation of interventions to reduce high-risk drinking. This study examined the effects of a social norm feedback campaign on the perceived drinking norms and drinking behavior of Division I student-athletes at three universities. The study tested a social norm feedback campaign 18 months after its campus-wide implementation. The study hypothesized that compared to student-athletes not exposed to a social norm feedback campaign, those exposed to such a campaign would report less drinking by peers and lower levels of alcohol consumption. Study measures included: (1) estimated blood alcohol concentration on last drinking occasion; (2) number of drinks consumed in past 14 days; (3) number of alcohol consequences in past 30 days; (4) number of occasions five plus drinks were consumed in past 2 weeks; (5) off-season and in-season frequencies of drinking; (6) drinking onset; and (7) perceptions of peer drinking norms. Study findings suggest that social norm feedback campaigns can effectively alter most perceptions of campus drinking norms in Division I student athletes, yet the study did not support the stated hypothesis. The conventional, campus-wide campaign assessed in this study appeared to impact perceptions of drinking by teammates, team captains, typical student athletes, and typical students, but not closest friends. The findings were consistent with previous survey research showing the relationships between perceived drinking norms and alcohol use. In the total sample of student-athletes assessed, 54.3 percent reported drinking with teammates, 51.6 percent reported drinking with non-athletes, and 32.4 reported drinking with members of other teams. This study challenges the current application of social norm feedback campaigns to reduce alcohol use in Division I student-athletes. References