Deviance regulation theory and drinking outcomes among Greek-life students during spring break

Alcohol use among college students increases during spring break, which often results in more alcohol-related consequences. Given the rates of heavy alcohol use among Greek-life college students, this population may be particularly at risk for experiencing negative outcomes during this time. Thus, t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inExperimental and clinical psychopharmacology Vol. 26; no. 4; p. 366
Main Authors Sargent, Emily M, Kilwein, Tess M, Dvorak, Robert D, Looby, Alison, Stevenson, Brittany L, Kramer, Matthew P
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.08.2018
Subjects
Adolescent
Alcohol Drinking in College - psychology
College Fraternities and Sororities - trends
Female
Harm Reduction
Holidays - psychology
Humans
Male
Proof of Concept Study
Random Allocation
Social Behavior
Students - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Universities - trends
Young Adult
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Summary:Alcohol use among college students increases during spring break, which often results in more alcohol-related consequences. Given the rates of heavy alcohol use among Greek-life college students, this population may be particularly at risk for experiencing negative outcomes during this time. Thus, the current study utilized a Deviance Regulation Theory (DRT)-based approach to increase the use of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) among Greek-life college students during spring break. Greek-life college students going on spring break (n = 89) completed a screening before being randomly assigned to a pre-spring break condition (i.e., either a positively or negatively framed message about peers who do or do not use PBS during spring break). Participants then completed a post-spring break assessment of alcohol and PBS use over spring break (n = 70). There were no observed DRT effects on manner of drinking or stopping/limiting PBS use during spring break. However, there were effects on Harm Reduction PBS (HR PBS). In the positive frame, HR PBS use was positively associated with PBS norm discrepancy (the difference between spring break specific PBS norms and typical PBS norms). While these associations did not result in lower alcohol consumption, HR PBS was inversely associated with risk-related alcohol problems, but not other types of alcohol problems. A brief DRT-based approach may increase specific PBS types during spring break and may reduce risk-related alcohol-related problems among Greek-life students during spring break. (PsycINFO Database Record
ISSN:1936-2293
DOI:10.1037/pha0000204