Citation

Leavens ELS, Miller MB, Brett EI, Baraldi A, Leffingwell TR. Addict. Behav. 2019; 104: e106256.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, United States. Electronic address: leavens@okstate.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.106256

PMID

31927219

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Personalized feedback interventions (PFIs) are associated with small but reliable decreases in alcohol consumption among college students. While they often include information regarding protective behavioral strategies (PBS), PFIs do not typically include feedback aimed to modify normative perceptions of PBS. This study aimed to enhance the efficacy of existing PFIs among college students by incorporating normative feedback on participants' use of PBS.

METHODS: Students enrolled in undergraduate courses (N = 268) completed baseline and 1-month follow-up assessments of past-month use of PBS, normative perceptions of PBS use, alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related consequences. Participants were randomized to one of three conditions: typical feedback on PBS (typical strategies PFI), descriptive normative feedback on PBS (strategy norms PFI), or assessment-only control (AOC). Participants in the typical strategies PFI and strategy norms PFI conditions received web-based personalized feedback profiles.

RESULTS: Compared to AOC, both the strategy norms PFI and typical strategies PFI were effective in correcting participants' perceptions of other students' engagement in PBS (p = .01) but did not differ significantly from one another. No statistically significant differences were observed between conditions in terms of actual PBS use, alcohol consumption, or alcohol-related consequences at 1-month follow-up (p > .05).

DISCUSSION: The strategy norms and typical strategies PFIs were both successful in increasing normative perceptions of PBS use, indicating that general (rather than normative) feedback regarding PBS use may be sufficient for changing perceptions of PBS use.

Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Alcohol; College drinking; Descriptive norms; Feedback; Intervention