According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, adults ages 18-29 are among those with the greatest number of alcohol related problems. In the past year, over 3 million college students drove under the influence of alcohol, and 400,000 students had unprotected sex as a result of alcohol intoxication. This research examined the association between actual and perceived drinking norms among college students, as well as the association between binge drinking and other risky behaviors. Analyses used cross-sectional data from the Spring, 2011, administration of the National College Health Assessment II at UNC Charlotte. Nearly 75% (n=827) of students reported non-binge drinking behavior, but 53.7% perceived that the typical student binge drank. After adjustment for other factors, students who perceived other students to be excessive binge drinkers had 4.75 (95% CI: 1.19, 18.91) times the odds of a recent binge drinking episode themselves. Binge drinkers had 7.77 (95%CI: 1.74, 34.69) and 3.86 (95%CI: 1.29, 11.57) times the odds of driving after drinking and having unprotected sex, respectively. Excessive binge drinkers had 7.30 (95%CI: 1.48, 36.00) and 6.56 (95%CI: 2.01, 21.38) times the odds of the same behaviors, respectively. In order to reduce the gap between actual and perceived drinking norms, the campus Social Norm Campaign should be further explored and regularly evaluated. In order to develop supplementary intervention strategies, further investigations should identify additional unknown factors that influence students" alcohol consumption.

"Hazardous drinking among university students remains a significant public health crisis on college campuses. According to the Core Institute (2012), nearly 44% of college students reported heavy episodic drinking during the previous two weeks. Alcohol use results in numerous problems experienced by college students, including impaired driving and death (Hingson, Zha, & Weitzman, 2009). In response, there has been a call within the literature to develop theoretically derived mediation models to investigate the complex array of variables that influence collegiate drinking behaviors (Baer, 2002; Oei & Morawska, 2004). By examining the multiple pathways of alcohol use, tailored interventions can be designed that target appropriate contributing factors for high-risk drinking groups (Dowdall & Wechsler, 2002). The purpose of this study was to test a model of collegiate drinking comprised of several key determinants of alcohol use: descriptive norms, injunctive norms, positive alcohol outcome expectancies, negative alcohol outcome expectancies, and four types of drinking motives (coping, conformity, social reinforcement, and enhancement). The motivational model of alcohol use (Cox & Klinger, 1988, 2011) was used as a framework for conceptualizing the unique role that each variable played in contributing to drinking outcome variables (alcohol use intensity and alcohol-related negative consequences). It was posited that drinking motives would fully mediate the associations between psychosocial determinants of drinking (social norms and alcohol outcome expectancies) and drinking outcome variables. Path analysis was utilized to examine associations among the variables and to assess the fit of the hypothesized model with a sample of 445 full-time undergraduates between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. A final, revised model accounted for 45% of the variance in both alcohol use intensity and alcohol-related negative consequences. Whereas enhancement drinking motives and social norms variables emerged as important predictors of alcohol use intensity, negative drinking motives acted as key predictors of alcohol-related negative consequences. Results of bootstrapping analyses indicated that drinking motives significantly mediated the indirect relationships between several psychosocial determinants and drinking outcome variables. Multiple group tests of invariance indicated that the revised model was an acceptable fit among male and female students as well as underclassmen and upperclassmen. Several implications for counselors and counselor educators were gleaned from the results. In the future, researchers should design and evaluate targeted interventions that are tailored for college drinkers based on their primary motives for alcohol consumption."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.

The Social Norms Approach to Preventing School and College Age Substance Abuse offers educators, counselors, and clinicians a handbook for understanding and implementing a new and highly successful alternative to traditional methods for preventing substance abuse among young people. The proven "social norms" approach outlined in this book identifies young people's dramatic misperceptions about their peer norms and promotes accurate public reporting of actual positive norms that exist in all student populations. The contributors to this important book are the originators, pioneers, and active proponents of this new approach. Many of them have successfully applied the social norms approach in secondary and higher education settings and as a result have promoted healthier lifestyles among adolescents and young adults across the United States.

This instructive manual presents a pragmatic and clinically proven approach to the prevention and treatment of undergraduate alcohol abuse. The BASICS model is a nonconfrontational, harm reduction approach that helps students reduce their alcohol consumption and decrease the behavioral and health risks associated with heavy drinking. Including numerous reproducible handouts and assessment forms, the book takes readers step-by-step through conducting BASICS assessment and feedback sessions. Special topics covered include the use of DSM-IV criteria to evaluate alcohol abuse, ways to counter student defensiveness about drinking, and obtaining additional treatment for students with severe alcohol dependency. Note about Photocopy Rights: The Publisher grants individual book purchasers nonassignable permission to reproduce selected figures, information sheets, and assessment instruments in this book for professional use. For details and limitations, see copyright page.

The purpose of this study was to investigate first-year students' alcohol consumption, risky behaviors, and their perceptions of the average UW-Stout student's alcohol related behaviors. Participants were 1033 incoming college students at a small, public university in the Midwest who completed a self-report survey. Participants were classified as either heavy or non-heavy episodic drinkers as defined by the DSM-IV criteria. Participants classified as heavy episodic drinkers reported being more likely than non-heavy drinkers to engage in risky behaviors themselves and to perceive that engaging in risky behaviors was the norm. There was also a positive relationship between self-reported alcohol consumption and perceptions of the average student's alcohol consumption. Results provide support for the social norms theory and suggest the social norms interventions at UW-Stout targeting high-risk groups such as first-year students may be effective.

Alcohol consumption is a prominent component of the college culture; high-risk consumption may lead to detrimental consequences for the student. Problematic alcohol consumption is linked to sexual assault, drunk driving, vandalism, and other unlawful activities. The degree to which students conform to the perceived social norms of the culture of the campus may impact the amount of alcohol that students consume; perceived social norms are often higher than the actual consumption amounts. Social anxiety may also impact the degree to which students will self-monitor their behavior in order to conform to their perceptions of the drinking norms. Drinking motives may also play a part in the amount and frequency of alcohol consumed, whether it's participating in drinking games during social gatherings, or consuming at the same rate as their peers for social acceptance. The study tested two hypotheses. The first hypothesis states: H1: The relationship between social anxiety and alcohol consumption would be moderated by perceived social norms. The second hypothesis states: H2: The relationship between social anxiety and alcohol consumption would be mediated by the drinking motives of coping and social pressure/conformity. Social anxiety was measured by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety scale (LSAS). The measure for alcohol consumption was based on self-reports for the number of drinks consumed per week. The measure for perceived social norms was the comparisons of the actual number of drinks consumed by the participant pool on average per week, in comparison with the number of drinks that the participant estimates that their peer consumes per week. The measure for social norms/alcohol expectancies and drinking motives was the evaluation of the responses sampled from the CORE Alcohol and Drug Survey and Drinking Motives Questionnaire- Revised (DMQR). The results indicated that the students who overestimated the alcohol consumption of their peers reported lower levels of alcohol consumption. Perceived social norms did not moderate the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol consumption. There was no significance found in the mediation of either of the drinking motives in the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol consumption.

It has been well researched that college student alcohol use is a public health concern and that college students as a general population are at risk for excessive alcohol use and binge drinking. Within the wide population of college students, student-athletes are at a particularly high risk for excessive alcohol consumption. Collegiate student-athletes have been found to be more likely than their peers to report alcohol-related negative consequences. In studying why athletes drink more than their peers, collegiate student-athlete alcohol research purports that motives for alcohol use stem from both general and sport-related motives. Social norms research, particularly descriptive and injunctive norms, has also been used to explain alcohol use habits in college students and student-athletes. Alcohol use is also strongly influenced by cultural norms and beliefs that one may develop in their country of origin. No research currently exists that studies how domestic and international student-athletes differ in alcohol use trends. The current study intends to bridge gaps in the literature by investigating alcohol use among international and domestic student-athletes and the resulting relationship between factors such as alcohol consumption, drinking motives, negative consequences of alcohol use, and a student-athlete's country of origin. It was hypothesized that student-athletes from the United States would report significantly different alcohol use behaviors than their International counterparts. NCAA student-athletes (n = 1330) completed an online questionnaire that included a demographics survey, country of origin questions, social norms perceptions questions, alcohol use questions, Athlete Drinking Scale, Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised, and Rutger's Alcohol Problem Index. Multiple MANCOVA analyses were run to examine differences in alcohol use behaviors between the three pairs of independent variables while controlling for gender and age. Analyses revealed significant effects for country of origin on student-athletes perceived injunctive norms and sport-related drinking motives. Specifically, international student-athletes perceived that friends from their country of origin approve of binge drinking more than United States student-athletes perceived their friends approve of binge drinking. Also, United States student-athletes endorsed all sport-related drinking motives more than international student-athletes endorsed the same motives, meaning that American student-athletes are more motivated to drink alcohol due to sport-related drinking motives than in international student-athletes are motivated to drink due to sport-related drinking motives.