Citation

DeMartino CH, Rice RE, Saltz R. J. Health Commun. 2015; 20(4): 479-490.

Affiliation

The Center for Learning and Teaching , California Lutheran University , Thousand Oaks , California , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10810730.2014.988384

PMID

25630048

Abstract

Several hypotheses about influences on college drinking derived from the social learning theory of deviance were tested and confirmed. The effect of ethnicity on alcohol use was completely mediated by differential association and differential reinforcement, whereas the effect of biological sex on alcohol use was partially mediated. Higher net positive reinforcements to costs for alcohol use predicted increased general use, more underage use, and more frequent binge drinking. Two unexpected finding were the negative relationship between negative expectations and negative experiences, and the substantive difference between nondrinkers and general drinkers compared with illegal or binge drinkers. The discussion considers implications for future campaigns based on Akers's deterrence theory.

Language: en