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Descriptive and injunctive norms in college drinking: a meta-analytic integration
1Center for Health and Behavior, 430 Huntington Hall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244-2340, USA.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol
|June 24, 2003
Summary
College students often misperceive peer alcohol norms, creating self-other discrepancies (SODs). Factors like norm type and question specificity influence these perceptions, impacting social norms alcohol prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Public Health
- Substance Abuse Prevention
Background:
- College students frequently overestimate peer alcohol consumption (descriptive norms) and approval (injunctive norms).
- This leads to consistent self-other discrepancies (SODs), where personal perceptions are lower than perceived peer norms.
- SODs underpin the social norms approach to alcohol abuse prevention, aiming to correct these misperceptions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate factors influencing the magnitude of self-other discrepancies (SODs) in perceived alcohol norms among college students.
- To identify predictors that can maximize or minimize SODs for improved alcohol prevention strategies.
Main Methods:
- A meta-analysis of 23 studies, encompassing 102 separate tests of SODs from 53,825 participants.
- Evaluated five predictors: norm type (injunctive vs. descriptive), gender, reference group, question specificity, and campus size.
Main Results:
- All five predictors significantly influenced SODs.
- Larger SODs were observed for injunctive norms, female respondents, distal reference groups, non-specific questions, and smaller campuses.
Conclusions:
- Norm assessment methods significantly impact SODs.
- Specificity of behaviors/attitudes and choice of reference groups can be manipulated to control SOD magnitude.
- Findings offer insights for refining social norms interventions for college alcohol abuse.