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Updated: Aug 17, 2025
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A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers
Published on: January 5, 2018
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Contextual Use of Protective Behavioral Strategies for College Drinking
Tricia H Witte1, Meagan Heilman2, Chuong Bui3
1Human Development and Family Studies, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA.
Substance Use & Misuse
|December 15, 2022
Summary
College students utilize different protective behavioral strategies (PBS) for various drinking situations, aligning personal choices with peer recommendations. These findings can inform campus alcohol harm reduction programs.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Substance Use Research
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- College alcohol use presents a significant public health challenge in the U.S.
- Protective Behavioral Strategies (PBS) are employed by students to reduce alcohol-related harms.
- Limited research exists on situational variations in PBS use among college students.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if college students employ different PBS across diverse drinking scenarios.
- To determine if students recommend different PBS for their peers in various situations.
- To explore the alignment between personal PBS choices and peer recommendations.
Main Methods:
- 182 undergraduate students participated in the study.
- Participants were presented with three hypothetical drinking scenarios: a birthday celebration, football game day, and a house party.
- Students indicated their personal PBS use and recommended PBS for friends, including options like limiting drinking, altering drinking patterns, harm reduction, or abstaining.
Main Results:
- Students adapted their PBS based on the specific drinking situation.
- Limiting drinking was chosen for birthday celebrations and game days; altering drinking patterns for game days; and harm reduction for house parties.
- Students' personal PBS choices mirrored their recommendations for their peers across all scenarios.
Conclusions:
- College students demonstrate situational awareness in applying protective behavioral strategies.
- Personal and recommended PBS choices align, suggesting a consistent approach to harm reduction.
- Findings offer valuable insights for developing targeted campus alcohol prevention and harm reduction initiatives.
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