Personalized normative feedback for heavy drinking: An application of deviance regulation theory

Effects of experimental, network-based social circle norm feedback on studying behavior and alcohol consumption

Misrepresentation of peer behavior has often been observed in college students and may lead to over-expression of alcohol consumption and under-expression of studying. While social norm feedback approaches have had mixed success in addressing these misrepresentations and altering behavior, they may have been too unspecific to be effective and did not directly assess individual perception accuracy. We thus investigated how specific, one-time feedback on the behavioral distribution of alcohol consumption or study time of a clearly defined, individually-adjusted social circle would affect the respective norm estimations and behavior of a class of Psychology students (n = 89 in January) across their first year of study. Students overestimated alcohol consumption and partially underestimated studying norms. While social circle feedback on alcohol consumption did not clearly affect both individual estimation accuracy and alcohol consumption, feedback on peers' studying time increased studying with no clear effect on estimation accuracy. This indicates that social circle norm feedback may be suitable to evoke behavioral effects. The correction of the detected inaccuracies did not appear to be a precondition for the feedback to be effective.

Efficacy of Social Norm Interventions on Addictive Behaviours-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials

Mental health-related behaviours including addictive behaviours contribute significantly to the global burden of disease. Social norm interventions appear to be a cost-effective means of reducing addictive behaviour. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of social norm interventions for addictive behaviours. We searched the databases Medline and PsycInfo from inception to April 2024 as well as reference lists of eligible studies and related systematic reviews for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the efficacy of social norm interventions for addictive behaviours to control conditions. Out of the 11,515 potentially eligible RCTs, 52 trials with a total of 31,764 adult participants met inclusion criteria, with 45 trials targeting alcohol consumption, three trials targeting Marijuana use, two trials targeting other substance abuse and two trials targeting gambling. Overall, 37 trials were included in the random-effects meta-analysis. The comparison of social norm interventions to control conditions at posttreatment showed a small but statistically significant effect (g = -0.12; 95% CI = -0.22 to -0.02; p < 0.01). Risk of bias was rated low in 37 RCTs, 14 RCTs were rated as having some risk of bias concerns and one RCT was rated as having high risk of bias. Social norm interventions can be an effective intervention method for reducing substance abuse and gambling. Yet, data is largely derived from studies targeting alcohol consumption and current trials suffer from methodological and practical limitations. The small effect sizes need to be appraised in the context of cost-effectiveness of these interventions.

A Deviance Regulation Theory Intervention Affects the Association Between Narcissistic Traits and Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategies in College Students

Background: College students continue to report problematic alcohol use. To mitigate adverse outcomes, recent studies have employed harm reduction strategies known as Protective Behavioral Strategies (PBS). Deviance Regulation Theory (DRT), an impression management intervention, has been used to promote the use of PBS. DRT relies on impression management to modify behavior. This may be especially important for individuals with higher levels of trait narcissism. Method: College student drinkers (n = 132) were randomly assigned to receive a positive message about PBS users, a negative message about non-PBS users, or control. Participants reported on current PBS use norms, daily alcohol use, PBS use, and any alcohol-related problems experienced during the previous week for the next 10 weeks. Results: Data were analyzed using multilevel regression to examine PBS use across time by condition. When PBS norms were low, narcissism was strongly associated with lower rates of PBS use in the control group. If individuals received a positive or negative message, the association between narcissism and PBS use was diminished, among individuals with low PBS norms. There were no significant differences at mean or high levels of norms, indicating the messaging was only important for the highest risk group (i.e., those with low PBS norms). Discussion: The results of this study suggest that message framing may be effective at reducing the robust negative association between narcissism and PBS use for individuals with low PBS norms. Positive messages about individuals that use PBS may be one approach to mitigating problematic alcohol consumption in this at-risk group.

Awareness of peers in recovery and of a campus collegiate recovery community at a university in the southeastern United States

Objective: Little is known about the extent of student awareness about collegiate recovery communities (CRCs) and of peers in recovery. Participants: A convenience sample of 237 undergraduate students from a diverse major at a private university participated in an anonymous online survey in Fall 2019. Methods: Participants reported whether they knew about the local CRC, whether they knew a peer in recovery, sociodemographic characteristics, and other information. Multivariable modified Poisson regression models were fitted to estimate correlates of awareness of the CRC and of peers in recovery. Results: Overall, 34% were aware of the CRC and 39% knew a peer in recovery. The latter was associated with being a member of Greek life, a junior or senior, using substances regularly, and personally being in recovery. Conclusions: Future research should explore ways to increase awareness of CRCs and assess the role of connections between students in recovery and peers across campus.

College students' virtual and in-person drinking contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in pronounced changes for college students, including shifts in living situations and engagement in virtual environments. Although college drinking decreased at the onset of the pandemic, a nuanced understanding of pandemic-related changes in drinking contexts and the risks conferred by each context on alcohol use and related consequences have yet to be assessed.

METHODS

Secondary data analyses were conducted on screening data from a large parent clinical trial assessing a college student drinking intervention (N = 1669). Participants across six cohorts (from Spring 2020 to Summer 2021) reported on the frequency of drinking in each context (i.e., outside the home, home alone, home with others in-person, and home with others virtually), typical amount of drinking, and seven alcohol-related consequence subscales.

RESULTS

Descriptive statistics and negative binomial regressions indicated that the proportion and frequency of drinking at home virtually with others decreased, while drinking outside the home increased from Spring 2020 to Summer 2021. Limited differences were observed in the proportion or frequency of individuals drinking at home alone or at home with others in-person. Negative binomial and logistic regressions indicated that the frequency of drinking outside the home was most consistently associated with more alcohol-related consequences (i.e., six of the seven subscales). However, drinking at home was not without risks; drinking home alone was associated with abuse/dependence, personal, social, hangover, and social media consequences; drinking home with others virtually was associated with abuse/dependence and social consequences; drinking home with others in-person was associated with drunk texting/dialing.

CONCLUSION

The proportion and frequency of drinking in certain contexts changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, although drinking outside the home represented the highest risk drinking context across the pandemic. Future prevention and intervention efforts may benefit from considering approaches specific to different drinking contexts.

Patient-Reported Bothersome Symptoms Attributed to Alcohol Use Among People With and Without HIV

Helping people with HIV (PWH) and without HIV (PWoH) understand the relationship between physical symptoms and alcohol use might help motivate them to decrease use. In surveys collected in the Veterans Aging Cohort Study from 2002 to 2018, PWH and PWoH were asked about 20 common symptoms and whether they thought any were caused by alcohol use. Analyses were restricted to current alcohol users (AUDIT-C > 0). We applied generalized estimating equations. The outcome was having any Symptoms Attributed to Alcohol use (SxAA). Primary independent variables were each of the 20 symptoms and HIV status. Compared to PWoH, PWH had increased odds of SxAA (OR 1.54; 95% CI 1.27, 1.88). Increased AUDIT-C score was also associated with SxAA (OR 1.32; 95% CI 1.28, 1.36), as were trouble remembering, anxiety, and weight loss/wasting. Evidence that specific symptoms are attributed to alcohol use may help motive people with and without HIV decrease their alcohol use.

Technological Interventions for the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders

Substance use disorders (SUDs) pose a major public health concern. In recent years, technological (i.e., e-health) interventions have emerged and are increasingly offered in a variety of settings, including substance use treatment. E-health interventions encompass a wide variety of advantages depending on the chosen delivery format. This chapter discusses existing interventions and the effectiveness of delivering them as an e-health intervention, with a focus on randomized controlled trials, for the treatment of alcohol, cannabis, opioid, psychostimulant, or poly-substance use, as well as in transdiagnostic interventions. Based on the literature, suggestions for future research and clinical implications are discussed.

Changes in college student alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic: Are perceived drinking norms still relevant?

With widespread concern for increased alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a pressing need to examine changes in young adults' alcohol use and to identify antecedents of increased use. We tested the hypothesis that self-reported changes in alcohol use during the pandemic (frequency, quantity, heavy episodic drinking) would relate to perceptions of peers' changes in alcohol use. In April of 2020, 507 college students self-reported changes in their alcohol use and perceived changes in use for typical students at their university (i.e., norms). Most students in our sample reported decreased alcohol use and perceived decreases in peers' alcohol use. Perceptions of peers' changes in alcohol use behavior strongly related to changes in students' own alcohol use. Findings provide strong support for norms-based strategies that can correct normative misperceptions by highlighting the fact that most college students are not in fact engaging in heavier alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The efficacy of Personalized Normative Feedback interventions across addictions: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Personalized Normative Feedback (PNF) may help address addictive disorders. PNF highlights discrepancies between perceived and actual peer norms, juxtaposed against self-reported behavior. PNF can be self-directed and cost-efficient. Our study estimates the efficacy of PNF alone, and in combination with other self-directed interventions, to address frequency and symptom severity of hazardous alcohol use, problem gambling, illicit drug and tobacco use. We searched electronic databases, grey literature, and reference lists of included articles, for randomized controlled trials published in English (January 2000-August 2019). We assessed study quality using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Thirty-four studies met inclusion criteria (k = 28 alcohol, k = 3 gambling, k = 3 cannabis, k = 0 tobacco). Thirty studies provided suitable data for meta-analyses. PNF alone, and with additional interventions, reduced short-term alcohol frequency and symptom severity. PNF with additional interventions reduced short-term gambling symptom severity. Effect sizes were small. PNF did not alter illicit drug use. Findings highlight the efficacy of PNF to address alcohol frequency and symptom severity. The limited number of studies suggest further research is needed to ascertain the efficacy of PNF for gambling and illicit drug use. Cost-effectiveness analyses are required to determine the scale of PNF needed to justify its use in various settings.

Computer-delivered personalized feedback intervention for hazardous drinkers with elevated anxiety sensitivity: A pilot randomized controlled trial

Hazardous drinkers with emotional vulnerabilities (e.g., elevated anxiety sensitivity) remain an underserved group. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy of a single session remotely-delivered personalized feedback intervention (PFI) targeting alcohol (mis)use and anxiety sensitivity among college students. Hazardous drinkers with elevated anxiety sensitivity (N = 125; 76.8% female; M_age = 22.14; 66.4% racial/ethnic minorities) were randomized to receive the integrated PFI (n = 63) or attention control (n = 62). Follow-up assessments were conducted one-week, one-month and three-months post-intervention. Latent growth curve modeling was used to test pilot outcomes. It was feasible to recruit and retain hazardous drinking students with elevated anxiety sensitivity through follow-up with no group differences in retention. The integrated PFI was rated as more acceptable than the control with medium/large differences (p's < 0.004; d's = 0.54-0.80). The integrated PFI group had statistically significantly greater change in primary outcomes: motivation, hazardous alcohol use, and anxiety sensitivity (p's < 0.05; d's = 0.08-0.37) with larger within-group effect sizes (d's = 0.48-0.61) than in control (d's = 0.26-0.54). Despite a small sample size, this one-session intervention offers promise among a high-risk group of drinkers with emotional vulnerabilities. The computer-based format may allow for mass distribution of a low-cost intervention in the future; however, follow-up testing in larger samples is needed.

Do descriptive norms messaging interventions backfire? Protocol for a systematic review of the boomerang effect

BACKGROUND

Descriptive norms messaging interventions are used to motivate people to adopt or maintain desirable behaviors. Such interventions provide people with information that describes an undesirable behavior as uncommon or a desirable behavior as prevalent within a relevant social group. Descriptive norms messaging interventions have shown promise in increasing individual and social benefit for a broad range of health and sustainability programs. However, evidence suggests that people who have adopted desirable behaviors sometimes regress to undesirable behaviors after receiving descriptive norms messages due to the type of information provided in the messages. This phenomenon is called the boomerang effect. We aim to conduct a systematic review of boomerang effects on health and environmental sustainability behaviors resulting from exposure to descriptive norms messaging interventions.

METHODS

We will employ our search strategy to identify studies of descriptive norms messaging interventions published prior to December 31, 2020. We will search the Cochrane Library, Campbell Library, PsycINFO, PubMed, Social Science Research Network (SSRN), and Web of Science to retrieve peer-reviewed articles published in English. We will restrict inclusion to studies (e.g., randomized and non-randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies, and observational studies) of health and environmental sustainability interventions that assess behaviors before and after exposure to descriptive norms messaging. Two reviewers will independently extract data about study populations and design, intervention components, and behavioral measures. We will use the revised Cochrane Risk of Bias assessment tool (RoB2) and Risk Of Bias in Non-randomized Studies-of Intervention (ROBINS-I) to assess the risk of bias, and the Liverpool Quality Assessment Tool (LQAT) to assess the quality of evidence. We will conduct thematic analyses to codify interventions, and examine intervention effects across subgroups of individuals based on their behavior prior to intervention exposure (e.g., those practicing desirable behaviors vs. undesirable behaviors). We will also conduct moderator analyses to determine whether boomerang effects are contingent upon other factors including intervention framing and delivery modality.

DISCUSSION

This systematic review will provide information about descriptive norms messaging intervention effects across subgroups of individuals and elucidate factors that potentially moderate boomerang effects. The review will yield evidence-based recommendations for the structure and content of descriptive norms messages that can be employed to avoid unintended boomerang effects within the context of health and sustainability programming.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO CRD42020156989.

Bias in the perceived prevalence of open defecation: Evidence from Bihar, India

People often form perceptions about how prevalent a behavior is in a social group. However, these perceptions can be inaccurate and biased. While persistent undesirable practices in low-income countries have drawn global attention, evidence regarding people’s perception of how prevalent these practices are is scarce. Among those harmful practices, open defecation in India remains a significant public health concern, where it perpetuates the vicious cycle of disease and poverty. In this study, we focus on measuring the perceived prevalence of open defecation among respondents in Bihar, India. We examined the bias in perceived prevalence, which is defined as a pattern of deviation from the actual prevalence of open defecation. Results showed that respondents who defecate in the open overestimate the prevalence of open defecation, whereas those who consistently use toilets underestimate it. This finding suggests a false consensus bias in the perceived prevalence of open defecation. Scholars, policymakers, and program implementers who seek to correct misperceptions about open defecation by broadcasting real prevalence should be aware of biases in the perceived prevalence and address them in behavior change interventions.

Computer-delivered personalized feedback intervention for hazardous drinkers with elevated anxiety sensitivity: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Integrated treatments for hazardous drinking and anxiety/depression are virtually nonexistent. Anxiety sensitivity is a common mechanism for both anxiety/depression and hazardous drinking. This article presents a study protocol for the development and testing of an integrated remotely delivered anxiety sensitivity/hazardous drinking personalized feedback intervention. Hazardous drinking college students with elevated anxiety sensitivity (n = 130) will be randomly assigned to a single session of a novel integrated personalized feedback intervention for anxiety sensitivity/hazardous drinking or control condition. Follow-ups will occur at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months. This study will serve as an initial test and proof of concept for an integrated anxiety sensitivity/hazardous drinking personalized feedback intervention.

Behavioral medicine and behavioral health research and practice: An introduction to the Special Issue

The field of behavioral medicine continues to have a major impact on psychological science and public health. Presently, the field of behavioral medicine is undergoing rapid development and continues to evolve as a sub-discipline in allied disciplines. This Special Issue highlights emerging work that contributes to the evolution of behavioral medicine as pertaining to behavioral, psychosocial, and biomedical science integration to prevent, diagnose, and treat illness and disease. The present introductory article calls attention to research in behavioral medicine in the larger context of behavioral health research and practice and encourages continued research in this area. Research presented in this Special Issue covers a variety of topics, ranging from the role of cognition and emotion in behavioral disorders, development and refinement of novel technological and integrated interventions, substance use comorbidity, sexual health across special populations, and social determinants of health. This Special Issue is organized into three parts classified as transdiagnostic processes in health behavior and physical illness; personalization of health-specific therapeutic tactics in modern day healthcare in behavioral medicine; and social determinants of health and health disparities in behavioral medicine among special populations. It is hoped that this issue will alert readers to the significance of this work, illustrate the many domains currently being explored via innovative approaches, and identify promising and impactful areas for research.