The authors examined the relation between Greek students' perceptions of alcohol consumption in their pledge classes (descriptive norms) and acceptability of drinking (injunctive norms) and the ability of these normative influences to predict drinking behavior, alcohol-related negative consequences, and symptoms of alcohol dependence concurrently and prospectively over 1 year. Participants were 279 men and 303 women recruited from incoming pledge classes of 12 fraternities and 6 sororities, who completed measures of descriptive and injunctive norms, alcohol use, and consequences. Results revealed that descriptive norms significantly predicted concurrent drinking. After controlling for baseline drinking, injunctive norms significantly predicted drinking 1 year later and predicted alcohol-related consequences and dependency symptoms at baseline and follow-up. The potential to incorporate injunctive norms into preventive interventions is discussed.Excessive use of alcohol is a significant public health threat, with a disproportionate impact on morbidity and mortality of adolescents and young adults in the United States (Grant, 1997;Grant et al., 1994; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1997). Among individuals ages 18 to 24, approximately 11% meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence (Grant, 1997). In addition, excessive use of alcohol is related to substantial harm among this age group, including accidents & injuries (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1997); unsafe or unwanted sexual experiences (Abbey, McAuslan, & Ross, 1998;Larimer, Lydum, Anderson, & Turner, 1999); academic failure (Presley, Meilman, & Cashin, 1996;Wechsler, Dowdall, Maenner, Gledhill-Hoyt, & Lee, 1998); and potential exacerbation of comorbid mental health conditions, such as depression, eating disorders, and anxiety disorders (Dunn, Larimer, & Neighbors, 2002;Geisner et al., 2004). Research indicates that college student populations are at particular risk for heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related harm (Johnston, O'Malley, & Bachman, 1999;Schulenberg & Maggs, 2000;Wechsler, Molnar, Davenport, & Baer, 1999) of Greek letter organizations (fraternities and sororities) at even greater risk (Alva, 1998;Borsari & Carey, 1999;Cashin, Presley, & Meilman, 1998;Wechsler, Kuh, & Davenport, 1996). It is interesting that the correlation between drinking quantity and frequency and alcohol-related negative consequences in this population rarely exceeds .6, suggesting that substantial variance in the experience of alcohol problems on college campuses cannot be explained by drinking behavior alone (Larimer et al., 2001;Turner, Larimer, & Sarason, 2000).Paradoxically, despite the higher overall rates of drinking and alcohol-related problems among college populations, research consistently indicates that most college students drink moderately or not at all most of the time (Meilman, Presley, & Cashin, 1997). Nonethe...

The current study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of a mailed feedback and tips intervention as a universal prevention strategy for college drinking. Participants (N = 1,488) were randomly assigned to feedback or assessment-only control conditions. Results indicated that the mailed feedback intervention had a preventive effect on drinking rates overall, with participants in the feedback condition consuming less alcohol at follow-up in comparison with controls. In addition, abstainers in the feedback condition were twice as likely to remain abstinent from alcohol at follow-up in comparison with control participants (odds ratio = 2.02), and feedback participants were significantly more likely to refrain from heavy episodic drinking (odds ratio = 1.43). Neither

ABSTRACT. Objective:The current study is a multisite randomized alcohol prevention trial to evaluate the effi cacy of both a parenting handbook intervention and the Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) intervention, alone and in combination, in reducing alcohol use and consequences among a high-risk population of matriculating college students (i.e., former high school athletes). Method: Students (n = 1,275) completed a series of Web-administered measures at baseline (in the summer before starting college) and follow-up (after 10 months). Students were randomized to one of four conditions: parent intervention only, BASICS only, combined (parent and BASICS), and assessment-only control. Intervention effi cacy was tested on a number of outcome measures, including peak blood alcohol concentration, weekly and weekend drinking, and negative consequences. Hypothesized mediators and moderators of intervention effect were tested. Results:The overall results revealed that the combined-intervention group had signifi cantly lower alcohol consumption, high-risk drinking, and consequences at 10-month follow-up, compared with the control group, with changes in descriptive and injunctive peer norms mediating intervention effects. Conclusions: The fi ndings of the present study suggest that the parent intervention delivered to students before they begin college serves to enhance the effi cacy of the BASICS intervention, potentially priming students to respond to the subsequent BASICS session. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 70: [555][556][557][558][559][560][561][562][563][564][565][566][567] 2009)

This research examined the relationships among perceived social norms, social outcome expectancies, and marijuana use and related consequences among entering college freshman marijuana users. Students (N = 312, 55% female) completed online assessments of their marijuana use, related consequences, perceived norms, and social expectancies related to marijuana use. Results suggested that perceptions of friends' marijuana use were most strongly associated with marijuana use (d = 0.68), in comparison with perceived injunctive norms (d = 0.30) or expectancies (d = 0.19), and that the perception that other students used marijuana more frequently was more strongly associated with use among students who also perceived other students as more approving of marijuana. In addition, the relationships between perceived descriptive and injunctive norms and marijuana use were stronger among students who reported more positive social marijuana expectancies. Descriptive norms and expectancies were both positively associated with marijuana-related consequences, but, at high levels of both of these variables, injunctive norms were negatively associated with consequences. Results highlight the importance of distinguishing between descriptive and injunctive norms and between marijuana use and related consequences.

Objective While research has documented heavy drinking practices and associated negative consequences of college students turning 21, few studies have examined prevention efforts aimed to reduce high-risk drinking during 21st birthday celebrations. The present study evaluated the comparative efficacy of a general prevention effort (i.e., BASICS) and event specific prevention in reducing 21st birthday drinking and related negative consequences. Furthermore, this study evaluated inclusion of peers in interventions and mode of intervention delivery (i.e., in-person vs. web). Method Participants included 599 college students (46% male) who intended to consume at least five/four drinks (men/women respectively) on their 21st birthday. After completing a screening/baseline assessment approximately one week before turning 21, participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions: 21st birthday in-person BASICS, 21st birthday web BASICS, 21st birthday in-person BASICS plus friend intervention, 21st birthday web BASICS plus friend intervention, BASICS, or an attention control. A follow-up assessment was completed approximately one week after students’ birthdays. Results Results indicated a significant intervention effect for BASICS in reducing blood alcohol content reached and number of negative consequences experienced. All three in-person interventions reduced negative consequences experienced. Results for the web-based interventions varied by drinking outcome and whether or not a friend was included. Conclusions Overall, results provide support for both general intervention and ESP approaches across modalities for reducing extreme drinking and negative consequences associated with turning 21. These results suggest there are several promising options for campuses seeking to reduce both use and consequences associated with 21st birthday celebrations.

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