@article{ref1,
title="Location-specific social norms and personal approval of alcohol use are associated with drinking behaviors in college students",
journal="Substance use and misuse",
year="2020",
author="Boyle, Holly K. and Merrill, Jennifer E. and Carey, Kate B.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="<i>Background</i>: Prior research on risky alcohol use points to drinking norms as predictors of drinking behavior. Most research to date has only explored global (versus context-specific) drinking norms as they relate to general drinking behavior. To better understand risky drinking behavior in students, how norms may vary across drinking environments should be considered. <i>Objectives:</i> We sought to explore differences in drinking norms (descriptive and injunctive), personal approval, and alcohol use across specific drinking locations and how these location-specific predictors combine to best predict alcohol consumption in home/dorm locations, bars, and parties. <i>Methods:</i> College student drinkers (<i>N</i> = 115, 76% female) participated in an anonymous online cross-sectional survey in 2015-2016 assessing personal and perceived drinking experiences and attitudes across various locations. <i>Results:</i> Alcohol use, descriptive norms of alcohol use, and injunctive norms of alcohol use (but not personal approval) varied across location. In addition, location-specific descriptive norms were associated with alcohol use in each drinking location, whereas location specific personal approval was associated with alcohol use only at home/dorm and bar locations. Furthermore, descriptive norms and personal approval of drinking in a given location predicted alcohol use in that same location, while norms or approval for other locations did not. <i>Conclusion/Importance:</i> Results highlight the importance of specificity of perceived drinking norms and personal approval for predicting location-specific alcohol use. These findings have implications for interventions, which may benefit from discussions of students' preferred drinking locations and providing location-specific normative feedback.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1082-6084",
doi="10.1080/10826084.2020.1756849",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2020.1756849"
}