Group identification as a moderator of the relationship between perceived social norms and alcohol consumption.

Previous research has shown that social norms are among the strongest predictors of college student drinking. Among college students, perceiving that others drink more heavily than themselves has been strongly and consistently associated with heavier drinking. Research has also shown that the more specifically others are defined, the stronger the association is with one's own drinking. In the current research, we evaluated whether group identification as defined by feeling closer to specific groups moderates the associations between perceived drinking norms in the group and one's own drinking. Participants included 3,752 (61% female) students who completed online assessments of their perceived drinking norms for 4 groups of students on their campus and identification with each group and participants' own drinking behavior. Results indicated that greater identification with same-sex students, same-race students, and same-Greek-status students was associated with stronger relationships between perceived drinking norms in the specific groups and own drinking.

[1]  K. Carey,et al.  Effects of a brief motivational intervention with college student drinkers. , 2000, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[2]  M. Larimer,et al.  Biases in the perception of drinking norms among college students. , 1991, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[3]  Deborah A. Prentice,et al.  Pluralistic ignorance and alcohol use on campus: some consequences of misperceiving the social norm. , 1993, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[4]  L. Johnston,et al.  Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975-2017: Volume II, college students and adults ages 19-55 , 2008 .

[5]  L. Johnston,et al.  Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975-2018: Volume II, college students and adults ages 19-60 , 2005 .

[6]  Toben F Nelson,et al.  Comparing web and mail responses in a mixed mode survey in college alcohol use research. , 2006, Addictive behaviors.

[7]  Hart Blanton,et al.  Deviance Regulation: A Theory of Action and Identity , 2003 .

[8]  H. Wechsler,et al.  Changes in binge drinking and related problems among American college students between 1993 and 1997. Results of the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study. , 1998, Journal of American college health : J of ACH.

[9]  James Evan Lange,et al.  The relationship between social identity, normative information, and college student drinking , 2007 .

[10]  L. Festinger.  A Theory of Social Comparison Processes , 1954 .

[11]  Clayton Neighbors,et al.  Gender-specific misperceptions of college student drinking norms. , 2004, Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors.

[12]  Lindsay S. Ham,et al.  College students and problematic drinking: a review of the literature. , 2003, Clinical psychology review.

[13]  C. Neighbors,et al.  Live interactive group-specific normative feedback reduces misperceptions and drinking in college students: a randomized cluster trial. , 2008, Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors.

[14]  D. Rubin,et al.  Contrasts and Correlations in Effect-Size Estimation , 2000, Psychological science.

[15]  R. Hanewinkel,et al.  Brief alcohol screening and intervention for college students (BASICS): A German pilot study , 2005 .

[16]  Linda R. Tropp,et al.  Ingroup Identification as the Inclusion of Ingroup in the Self , 2001 .

[17]  J. Cashin,et al.  Alcohol use in the Greek system: follow the leader? , 1998, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[18]  Social determinants of alcohol consumption: the effects of social interaction and model status on the self-administration of alcohol. , 1985, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[19]  Clayton Neighbors,et al.  Are social norms the best predictor of outcomes among heavy-drinking college students? , 2007, Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs.

[20]  C. Neighbors,et al.  A brief live interactive normative group intervention using wireless keypads to reduce drinking and alcohol consequences in college student athletes. , 2009, Drug and alcohol review.

[21]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences , 1979 .

[22]  A. Barry.  Using Theory-Based Constructs to Explore the Impact of Greek Membership on Alcohol-Related Beliefs and Behaviors: A Systematic Literature Review , 2007, Journal of American college health : J of ACH.

[23]  A. Aron,et al.  Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale and the structure of interpersonal closeness , 1992 .

[24]  M. Hogg,et al.  Group Norms and the Attitude-Behavior Relationship: A Role for Group Identification , 1996 .

[25]  W. DeJong,et al.  A multisite randomized trial of social norms marketing campaigns to reduce college student drinking. , 2006, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[26]  Clayton Neighbors,et al.  Targeting misperceptions of descriptive drinking norms: efficacy of a computer-delivered personalized normative feedback intervention. , 2004, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[27]  G A Marlatt,et al.  Screening and brief intervention for high-risk college student drinkers: results from a 2-year follow-up assessment. , 1998, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[28]  M. Larimer,et al.  Being controlled by normative influences: self-determination as a moderator of a normative feedback alcohol intervention. , 2006, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[29]  M. Larimer,et al.  Evaluating level of specificity of normative referents in relation to personal drinking behavior. , 2009, Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs. Supplement.

[30]  T. Palfai,et al.  Social environmental selection as a mediator of gender, ethnic, and personality effects on college student drinking. , 2003, Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors.

[31]  J. Suls,et al.  Pluralistic ignorance and college student perceptions of gender-specific alcohol norms. , 2003, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[32]  Brian Borsari,et al.  Descriptive and injunctive norms in college drinking: a meta-analytic integration. , 2003, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[33]  C. Neighbors,et al.  Normative misperceptions and temporal precedence of perceived norms and drinking. , 2006, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[34]  K. Carey,et al.  Peer influences on college drinking: a review of the research. , 2001, Journal of substance abuse.

[35]  M. Larimer,et al.  Predicting drinking behavior and alcohol-related problems among fraternity and sorority members: examining the role of descriptive and injunctive norms. , 2004, Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors.

[36]  F. Reid.  Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-Categorization Theory , 1987 .

[37]  James S. Korcuska,et al.  Gender Role Conflict and Sex-Specific Drinking Norms: Relationships to Alcohol Use in Undergraduate Women and Men , 2003 .

[38]  Melissa A Lewis,et al.  Optimizing personalized normative feedback: the use of gender-specific referents. , 2007, Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs.

[39]  D. Wilke,et al.  High-Risk Drinking Among Young Adults: The Influence of Race and College Enrollment , 2007, The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse.

[40]  Internet-based personalized feedback to reduce 21st-birthday drinking: a randomized controlled trial of an event-specific prevention intervention. , 2009, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[41]  Norman Miller,et al.  Intergroup Competition, Attitudinal Projection, and Opinion Certainty: Capitalizing on Conflict , 2001 .

[42]  Clayton Neighbors,et al.  Social Norms Approaches Using Descriptive Drinking Norms Education: A Review of the Research on Personalized Normative Feedback , 2006, Journal of American college health : J of ACH.

[43]  K. Sher,et al.  Short- and long-term effects of fraternity and sorority membership on heavy drinking: a social norms perspective. , 2001, Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors.

[44]  L. Johnston,et al.  Monitoring the Future: National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2007. Volume I, Secondary School Students. NIH Publication No. 08-6418A. , 2010 .

[45]  Daniel R. Kivlahan,et al.  Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (Basics): A Harm Reduction Approach , 1999 .

[46]  Jane Metrik,et al.  Test-retest reliability of alcohol measures: is there a difference between internet-based assessment and traditional methods? , 2002, Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors.