College student alcohol use remains a significant public health issue. College students consume alcohol at higher rates than their non-college peers. Though most college students mature out of heavy alcohol use by graduation, the consequences resulting from frequent acute intoxication during college can be devastating. Identifying cost effective ways to reduce problematic alcohol use, that can be widely disseminated, remains vitally important. A large body of literature has examined associations between social norms and drinking among college students. Several college drinking interventions have utilized social norms to reduce alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences. However, recent research suggests these interventions may not be as effective as once though. Despite the support for social norms as an etiological basis for heavy drinking, and its implementation in interventions, the operationalization has remained relatively narrow. Social norms interventions have generally not taken broader theoretical perspectives into account. Nor have they been applied much beyond the exclusive focus on quantity and frequency of consumption. The present study addresses these issues by examining the effects of an intervention grounded in Deviance Regulation Theory, meant to increase use of alcohol protective behavioral strategies when drinking. Deviance Regulation Theory posits that individuals will seek to engage in behaviors that allow them to standout in positive ways or avoid standing-out in negative ways. Both of these effects are based on the perception of the behavioral norm. Participants are randomly assigned to receive messages that presents individuals who DO use PBS in a positive light, information that presents individuals who DO NOT use PBS in a negative light, or an active control (BASICS). It is hypothesized that among individuals who believe PBS use is uncommon among their peers, positive messages about PBS users will result in increased PBS use, and subsequent decreases in alcohol use and problems. In contrast among individuals who believe PBS use is common among their peers, negative messages about PBS users will result in increased PBS use, and subsequent decreases in alcohol use and alcohol problems. If successful this trial will pave the way for a novel intervention for college students that can be tailored to individual beliefs about PBS use norms and that could be combined with existing interventions for college student drinking.
The current project uses a brief mobile intervention, grounded in Deviance Regulation Theory, to deliver in-the-moment messaging meant to increase responsible drinking among college students. Participants receive positive messages about individuals that use responsible drinking behaviors or negative messages about individuals that do not use responsible drinking behaviors. It is hypothesized that these messages delivered at appropriate times will differentially affect use of responsible drinking behaviors as a function of individual beliefs about the prevalence of responsible drinking among peers.