Drinking norm-behavior association over time using retrospective and daily measures.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Social norm-based interventions are common for college drinking but have inconsistent effectiveness.
• Existing research often uses retrospective measures, raising concerns about recall biases influencing social influence estimates.
• The study investigates whether heuristic biases, rather than social influence, explain norm-drinking associations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the role of heuristic recall biases in the association between perceived social norms and college drinking behavior.
• To differentiate between social influence and alternative processes in shaping norm-drinking associations over time.
• To compare findings from retrospective and daily diary measures to assess recall bias effects.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study over 3 years with 574 college students.
• Collected data on individual drinking levels and perceived peer drinking norms.
• Utilized both retrospective (monthly) and daily diary (30-day) reports.
• Employed structural equation modeling to analyze cross-lagged effects.

Main Results:

• Perceived social norms showed a small but significant effect on subsequent drinking behavior.
• Past drinking behavior consistently predicted changes in perceived social norms.
• Heuristic recall biases did not account for or inflate the observed norm-behavior associations.

Conclusions:

• Social influence contributes to the long-term norm-drinking association, but it is less influential than alternative processes.
• Past drinking behavior plays a more significant role in shaping perceptions of social norms.
• Findings suggest that interventions targeting college drinking need to consider the reciprocal relationship between behavior and norm perception, beyond simple social influence.