Objective: The present study examines college students' perceptions of same-gender and opposite-gender peer norms for bystander behaviors in drinking contexts, as well as the association between perceived norms and participants' willingness to intervene and actual behavior. Method: Participants completed an online survey assessing bystander-related perceived norms, willingness, and behavior. A subset of participants also completed a measure of bystander behavior 4-months later. Results: The results indicated a divergent pattern of normative misperceptions for descriptive and injunctive norms, in which participants overestimated descriptive norms and underestimated injunctive norms. Further, participants who perceived greater perceived injunctive norms reported greater willingness to intervene in the future. While those who perceived that their peers intervened more frequently were more likely to have engaged in bystander behavior at baseline and the 4-month follow-up. Conclusions: Results also suggest that the role of genderspecific norms is complex and dependent on participants' own gender. The results indicate the potential value of developing norms-based interventions addressing bystander behaviors and implications for the types of normative misperceptions to target.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.