Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Multi-Site Randomized Trial Of Normative Feedback For Heavy Drinking: Social Comparison Versus Social Comparison Plus Correction Of Normative Misperceptions, Clayton Neighbors, Melissa A. Lewis, Joseph W. Labrie, Angelo M. Dibello, Chelsie M. Young, Dipali V. Rinker, Dana Litt, Lindsey M. Rodriguez, C. Raymond Knee, Ezekiel Hamor, Jessica M. Jerabeck, Mary E. Larimer

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Objective

Given widespread alcohol misuse among college students, numerous intervention programs have been developed, including personalized normative feedback (PNF). Most research evaluating PNF assumes that presenting one's own perceived norms is necessary to correct normative misperceptions and thereby reduce drinking. Alternatively, simply providing social comparison information showing that one drinks more than others may be sufficient. The present study evaluated the efficacy of full PNF (one's own drinking, campus drinking rates, and perceived norms) and a partial personalized social comparison feedback (PSCF; one's own drinking and campus drinking rates) in a randomized trial among heavy-drinking college students.

Method

Participants included …

Trajectories Of Alcohol Use And Consequences In College Women With And Without Depressed Mood, Shannon Kenney, Caitlin C. Abar, Kimberly O'Brien, Gabrielle Clark, Joseph W. Labrie

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College students with depressed mood face heightened risk for experiencing drinking-related negative consequences. However, few studies have examined prospective patterns of alcohol consequences among depressed students. In the present investigation, we assessed how first-year college women’s trajectories of heavy episodic drinking (HED) and alcohol consequences differed as a function of depressed mood at college entry. Participants were 233 heavy drinking incoming first-year college females (61% White) at a mid-sized west coast university. Participants completed an online baseline survey, attended a single brief group intervention session, and completed 1- and 6-month post-intervention follow-up surveys. Depressed mood, alcohol consumption, and alcohol consequences …

Comparing The Unmatched Count Technique And Direct Self-Report For Sensitive Health-Risk Behaviors In Hiv+ Adults, Alyssa Arentoft, Kathleen Van Dyk, April D. Thames, Philip Sayegh, Nicholas Thaler, Daniel Schonfeld, Joseph W. Labrie, Charles H. Hinkin

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Researchers often rely on self-report measures to assess sensitive health-risk behaviors in HIV+ individuals, yet the accuracy of self-report has been questioned, particularly when inquiring about behaviors that may be embarrassing, risky, and/or taboo. We compared an anonymous reporting method—the Unmatched Count Technique (UCT)—to direct self-report in order to assess reporting differences for several health-risk behaviors related to medication adherence and sexual risk. Contrary to hypotheses, the UCT only produced a significantly higher estimated base rate for one sensitive behavior: reporting medication adherence to one's physician, which may have been contextually-primed by our study design. Our results suggest that anonymous …