Psychology Commons^™

The Efficacy Of A Standalone Protective Behavioral Strategies Intervention For Students Accessing Mental Health Services, Joseph W. Labrie, Lucy Napper, Elizabeth M. Grimaldi, Shannon R. Kenney, Andrew Lac

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Objective

Students with poor mental health are at increased risk for problematic alcohol use. These students also tend to underutilize alcohol-related protective behavioral strategies (PBS). Cross-sectional studies indicate that PBS use may be particularly useful for students with mental health challenges; however, it is unclear whether training these students to use PBS is an effective approach for reducing alcohol use and consequences. The current study evaluated the efficacy of a standalone PBS skills training and personalized feedback (PBS-STPF) intervention among students accessing mental health services.

Method

Participants (N = 251) were randomly assigned to either an individual facilitator-led PBS-STPF …

Normative Feedback For Parents Of College Students: Piloting A Parent Based Intervention To Correct Misperceptions Of Students’ Alcohol Use And Other Parents’ Approval Of Drinking, Joseph W. Labrie, Lucy E. Napper, Justin F. Hummer

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Objective

Multi-component parent-based interventions (PBIs) provide a promising avenue for targeting alcohol use and related consequences in college students. Parents of college-aged children can have a significant influence on their children’s alcohol use decisions. However, parents tend to underestimate their own child’s alcohol use and overestimate other similar parents’ approval of student drinking. These misperceptions could have important implications for parents’ own attitudes and alcohol-related communication with their student. Targeting these misperceptions through normative feedback could help promote greater and more in-depth alcohol-related communication. The present study examines the potential efficacy of web-based alcohol-related normative feedback for parents of college …

Impulsivity And Alcohol-Related Risk Among College Students: Examining Urgency, Sensation Seeking And The Moderating Influence Of Beliefs About Alcohol's Role In The College Experience, Joseph W. Labrie, Shannon R. Kenney, Lucy E. Napper, Kevin Miller

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The personality trait of impulsivity is predictive of heavy drinking and consequences among college students. The current study examined how impulsivity—measured via positive urgency, negative urgency, and sensation seeking—and a person's beliefs about the role alcohol plays in the college experience relate to drinking and consequences in a sample of 470 college students (mean age = 19 years, 61.3% female, 59.8% white). In support of hypotheses, sensation seeking independently predicted greater drinking, and both positive and negative urgency predicted greater experience of alcohol-related negative consequences after controlling for consumption level. Moreover, alcohol beliefs moderated the relationship between impulsivity types and …

Comparing Greek-Affiliated Students And Student Athletes: An Examination Of The Behavior-Intention Link, Reasons For Drinking, And Alcohol-Related Consequences, Karen K. Huchting, Andrew Lac, Justin F. Hummer, Joseph W. Labrie

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While affiliation with Greek fraternities/sororities and intercollegiate athletic teams is associated with heavier drinking (Meilman et al., 1999), few studies have compared reasons for drinking among these groups. A sample of 1,541 students, identifying as either Greeks or athletes, completed an online survey. Athletes were significantly higher than Greeks on conformity reason for drinking. Tests of independent correlations indicated the magnitude of the past behavior to intention link was considerably stronger for Greeks. Greeks experienced significantly more social problems from drinking. Several group by gender ANOVA models found significant main effects with highest drinking rates, usually among Greek …

An Application Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Sorority Alcohol Consumption, Karen Huchting, Andrew Lac, Joseph W. Labrie

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Greek-affiliated college students have been found to drink more heavily and frequently than other students. With female student drinking on the rise over the past decade, sorority women may be at particular risk for heavy consumption patterns. The current study is the first to apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to examine drinking patterns among a sorority-only sample. Two-hundred and forty-seven sorority members completed questionnaires measuring TPB variables of attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions, with drinking behaviors measured one month later. Latent structural equation modeling examined the pathways of the TPB model. Intentions to drink mediated the …

Assessment Of Perceived And Actual Alcohol Norms In Varying Contexts: Exploring Social Impact Theory Among College Students, Eric R. Pedersen, Joseph W. Labrie, Andrew Lac

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The social norms approach to college drinking suggests that students misperceive the drinking behavior and attitudes of their peers. While much is known about these misperceptions, research is sparse regarding the context in which perceived and actual norms are assessed. As social influence is pronounced in college, the principles of Social Impact Theory may contribute to differences between assessments performed individually and those completed when surrounded by members of one’s salient reference group. The current study examines 284 members of campus organizations in two contexts (online and group) to determine if individuals endorse different responses to questions of perceived and …

A Randomized Motivational Enhancement Prevention Group Reduces Drinking And Alcohol Consequences In First-Year College Women, Joseph W. Labrie, Karen Huchting, Summer Tawalbeh, Eric R. Pedersen, Alysha D. Thompson

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Alcohol consumption among college students has become an increasing problem that requires attention from college administrators, staff, and researchers. Despite the physiological differences between men and women, college women are drinking at increasingly risky rates, placing them at increased risk for negative consequences. The current study tested a group motivational enhancement approach to the prevention of heavy drinking among 1st-year college women. Using a randomized design, the authors assigned participants either to a group that received a single-session motivational enhancement intervention to reduce risky drinking that focused partly on women’s specific reasons for drinking (n =126) or to an assessment-only …

A Group Motivational Interviewing Intervention Reduces Drinking And Alcohol-Related Negative Consequences In Adjudicated College Women, Joseph W. Labrie, Alysha D. Thompson, Karen Huchting, Andrew Lac, Kevin Buckley

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College students who violate campus alcohol policies (adjudicated students) are at high risk for experiencing negative alcohol-related consequences and for undermining campus life. Further, college women may be especially at risk due to differential intoxication effects and sexual consequences experienced mainly by female students. Research on interventions for adjudicated students, especially adjudicated females, has been limited. One hundred and fifteen college women who received a sanction for violating campus alcohol policies participated in the study. The two hour group intervention focused on female-specific reasons for drinking and included decisional balance, goal setting and other exercises. Participants completed follow-up surveys for …