Adolescent alcohol use: Social comparison orientation moderates the impact of friend and sibling behaviour

“Intervention Program Based on Self”: A Proposal for Improving the Addiction Prevention Program “Unplugged” through Self-Concept

The “Intervention Program based on Self” (IPSELF) project was created to address the gap between the acquisition of life skills during prevention programs and their application with a session for developing one’s self-concept included in the European program “Unplugged”. The present study evaluated its effectiveness. A total of 157 middle school students (94 girls, 63 boys, M_AGE= 12.89, SD = 0.45) from three schools in France participated in this study. The participants attended one of two programs (Unplugged/IPSELF). The effectiveness of the IPSELF add-on session was measured with the Self-Concept Clarity Scale, and the differences between the two programs was measured with the prototype willingness model. Adolescents in IPSELF rated the typical nonsmoker and cannabis nonsmoker more favorably, and the typical drinker less favorably. They felt more different from the typical smoker and drinker after participation in IPSELF. More alcohol experimenters were observed in Unplugged. The knowledge gained in IPSELF appeared to help adolescents more than that gained in Unplugged to change their smoking behavior. Furthermore, IPSELF had a more beneficial effect for girls, who felt that they had gained more control over their alcohol and cannabis use than boys, whereas Unplugged had a more positive effect on boys, who gained better control over their consumption. Moreover, the girls felt that they had gained more knowledge about the substances discussed in IPSELF than in Unplugged. We therefore recommend the use of IPSELF especially with female audiences.

An examination of the role of social comparison orientation and social norms in drunkorexia engagement

Drunkorexia is a behavior pattern marked by calorie restriction and/or compensation in relation to alcohol consumption. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of social norms (descriptive, injunctive) and social comparison orientation (SCO; global, alcohol-specific, eating disorder-related) in drunkorexia engagement. Specifically, our research aimed to examine a possible interaction between norms and SCO; we hypothesized that the relationship between social norms and drunkorexia would be moderated by SCO in that the relationship would be stronger among those elevated on SCO. Data were collected from an undergraduate sample (n = 501); participants completed the consent form and questions/questionnaires via Qualtrics. The results indicated that the predictor variables examined were correlated with overall drunkorexia engagement. In the regression models, in terms of main effects, eating disorder-related SCO emerged as the strongest predictor of the drunkorexia dimensions as well as overall drunkorexia engagement. Descriptive norms emerged as the second strongest predictor in the models. Only one interaction was identified; eating disorder-related SCO moderated the relationship between descriptive norms and the bulimia drunkorexia dimension. The simple slopes analysis indicated that descriptive norms was positively predictive of the bulimia drunkorexia dimension only among individuals with average or elevated eating disorder-related SCO. Social comparisons made regarding one's body, eating, or exercise (eating disorder-related) and social norms are potentially important targets for drunkorexia prevention and/or intervention programs. Further research is needed to better understand risk factors for drunkorexia engagement in the college population.

Breath Alcohol Concentration and Perception of Drunkenness: A Comparison between Adolescents and Young Adults Drinking Alcohol in Public Settings

Alcohol use is a persisting social and health problem in Spain that often takes place within the recreational context. This study aims to analyze objective and self-reported measures of alcohol use and to assess the potential role of social factors on alcohol intake in open-air public settings. A total of 1475 participants (47.4% women), including 27.8% adolescents organized into 355 natural groups of friends, were interviewed while they were socializing at night in the streets of Palma (Spain). Breath alcohol concentration (BrAC), self-reported measures of alcohol use, and social variables were assessed. Men showed statistically higher scores in BrAC than women. However, adolescents’ Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores were not statistically different by gender. Correlation between objective and self-reported measures was low. Interestingly, BrAC of drinkers was lower when some friends in the group were sober. Moreover, especially in young adults, variables related to the social environment were statistically significant factors to predict BrAC. In conclusion, we found a high prevalence of alcohol intake in young people in open-air public settings, low relationship of objective and self-reported measures, and social factors linked to alcohol use, although differences by age and gender must be considered.

Alcohol-specific social comparison as a moderator of the norms-behavior association for young adult alcohol use

Research has indicated that individuals high in social comparison orientation (SCO) are more influenced by the behavior and perceived norms of others. However, despite research indicating that behavior is more closely influenced by and modeled on more socially proximal reference groups, most social comparison research to date has utilized global measures of social comparison. As such, research has not examined whether domain-specific (i.e. alcohol-specific social comparisons) and their relation with norms are more predictive of alcohol-related outcomes than global comparisons. As such, the present study aimed to determine whether the previously found relationships between global SCO, descriptive drinking norms and their interaction are still significant when accounting for alcohol-specific SCO and its interaction with descriptive norms in the prediction of drinking willingness and behavior. Results from 355 young adults age 18-20 indicated that the association of alcohol-specific SCO and its interaction with descriptive norms for drinking predicts alcohol-related outcomes (drinking willingness and alcohol consumption), but not alcohol-related negative consequences above and beyond global SCO. Thus, alcohol-specific SCO may be of particular importance when determining for whom normative based preventive interventions may be the most efficacious.

Positive excessive drinker prototypes predict greater drinking and alcohol problems

OBJECTIVES

According to the prototype willingness model, risky behaviours such as heavy drinking may be influenced by images of others who engage in this behaviour. In this study, we examined whether college students' prototypes of an individual who frequently drinks "over the limit" were associated with their own alcohol consumption and experience of alcohol-related problems during their first 2 years in college.

METHODS

We assessed students' (N = 340) prototypes of excessive drinkers and their own alcohol consumption and problems at four time points, across their first 2 years in college. Along with examining the trajectory of prototypes, consumption, and problems, we tested whether prototypes significantly predicted consumption and problems across the 2 years. Additional analyses examined whether the predictive value of prototypes was unique from related variables including perceived descriptive norms, perceived injunctive norms, and peer pressure to drink alcohol.

RESULTS

Primary analyses indicated that more positive prototypes of an excessive drinker were significantly associated with greater alcohol consumption in both year 1 and year 2. More positive prototypes were also significantly associated with experiencing more alcohol-related problems in year 2. These findings held when controlling for perceived descriptive and injunctive norms, and peer pressure.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings further support the importance of drinker prototypes to one's own drinking behaviour. By examining prototypes over time and their relationship to alcohol-related problems, this study makes a novel contribution to the existing research. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Perceived norms (beliefs about how much others drink and what they approve of) are associated with own drinking. Individuals construct "risk prototypes," or images of people who engage in risky behaviours like drinking alcohol. Positive risk prototypes of drinkers have been associated with own willingness to drink and subsequent drinking. What does this study add? This study shows the trajectory of drinker prototypes across the first 2 years of college. Findings highlight consistent patterns of positive associations between drinker prototypes and own drinking. More positive drinker prototypes are associated with a greater number of problems with alcohol.

Parents' Social Comparisons of Siblings and Youth Problem Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model

Parents compare their children to one another; those comparisons may have implications for the way mothers and fathers treat their children, as well as their children's behavior. Data were collected annually for three years with parents, firstborns, and secondborns from 385 families (Time 1 age: firstborns, 15.71, SD = 1.07, 52% female; secondborns, 13.18, SD = 1.29, 50% female). Parents' beliefs that one child was better behaved predicted differences in siblings' reports of parent-child conflict. Additionally, for siblings close in age, mothers' comparisons at Time 1 predicted youth's problem behavior at Time 3 through siblings' differential conflict with mothers. The results support and extend tenets from Social Comparison and Expectancy Value theories in regards to social comparison within families.

Mothers', fathers', and siblings' perceptions of parents' differential treatment of siblings: Links with family relationship qualities

A family systems perspective directs attention to the potentially different experiences and perspectives of family members. This study examined parents' differential treatment (PDT) of siblings, discrepancies between parent and youth reports of PDT, and their links with relationships between adolescents and their mothers and fathers across three years. Participants were first- (Time 1 M age = 15.71, SD = 1.07) and secondborn (Time 1 M age = 13.18, SD = 1.29) siblings from 381, predominately white, working and middle class families. Analyses revealed that siblings' perceptions of being favored predicted less conflict with and greater warmth from both mothers and fathers, primarily for secondborn adolescents. Larger discrepancies between maternal and youth reports of differential affection were linked to more maternal conflict and less warmth for firstborns. These findings may suggest a hierarchy within families: parents may serve as referents for firstborns and firstborns as referents for secondborns.

The Effect of Descriptive Norms on Pregaming Frequency: Tests of Five Moderators

BACKGROUND

Pregaming is highly prevalent on college campuses and associated with heightened levels of intoxication and risk of alcohol consequences. However, research examining the correlates of pregaming behavior is limited. Descriptive norms (i.e., perceptions about the prevalence or frequency of a behavior) are reliable and comparatively strong predictors of general drinking behavior, with recent evidence indicating that they are also associated with pregaming.

OBJECTIVES

We tested the hypothesis that higher descriptive norms for pregaming frequency would be associated with personal pregaming frequency. We also tested whether this effect would be stronger in the context of several theory-based moderators: female gender, higher injunctive norms (i.e., perceptions of others' attitudes toward a particular behavior), a more positive attitude toward pregaming, a stronger sense of identification with the drinking habits of other students, and stronger social comparison tendencies.

METHODS

College student drinkers (N = 198, 63% female) participated in an online survey assessing frequency of pregaming, descriptive norms, and hypothesized moderators.

RESULTS

A multiple regression model revealed that higher descriptive norms, a more positive attitude toward pregaming, and stronger peer identification were significantly associated with greater pregaming frequency among drinkers. However, no moderators of the association between descriptive norms and pregaming frequency were observed.

CONCLUSIONS/IMPORTANCE

Descriptive norms are robust predictors of pregaming behavior, for both genders and across levels of several potential moderators. Future research seeking to understand pregaming behavior should consider descriptive norms, as well as personal attitudes and identification with student peers, as targets of interventions designed to reduce pregaming.

Impulsivity moderates the effects of movie alcohol portrayals on adolescents' willingness to drink

This study examined impulsivity as a moderator of adolescents' reactions to positive versus negative portrayals of drinking in American movie clips. Impulsivity, along with willingness and intentions to drink in the future, were assessed in a pretest session. In the experimental sessions, adolescents viewed a series of clips that showed drinking associated with either positive outcomes (e.g., social facilitation) or negative outcomes (fights, arguments). A third group viewed clips with similar positive or negative outcomes, but no alcohol consumption. All participants then responded to an implicit measure of attentional bias regarding alcohol (a dot probe), followed by explicit alcohol measures (self-reports of willingness and intentions to drink). Hypotheses, based on dual-processing theories, were: (a) high-impulsive adolescents would respond more favorably than low-impulsive adolescents to the positive clips, but not the negative clips; and (b) this difference in reactions to the positive clips would be larger on the willingness than the intention measures. Results supported the hypotheses: Adolescents high in impulsivity reported the highest willingness to drink in the positive-clip condition, but were slightly less willing than others in the negative-clip condition. In addition, results on the dot probe task indicated that RTs to alcohol words were negatively correlated with changes in alcohol willingness, but not intention; that is, the faster their response to the alcohol words, the more their willingness increased. The results highlight the utility of a dual-processing perspective on media influence. (PsycINFO Database Record

It only takes once: The absent-exempt heuristic and reactions to comparison-based sexual risk information

Three studies (N = 545) investigated the effects of social comparison on the "absent-exempt" (AE) heuristic (feeling exempt from future risk). Study 1 examined how comparison with an infected peer (comparison target) who was similar or nonsimilar in terms of sexual risk (number of partners, lack of condom use), influenced willingness and intentions to engage in sex without a condom, and conditional perceived vulnerability to an STD. Participants generally reported lower willingness and higher conditional vulnerability if they compared with a similar-risk level target. However, high-risk students who compared with a low-risk target engaged in what appeared to be AE thinking, reporting the highest willingness and lowest conditional vulnerability. Intentions to have sex without a condom were not influenced. Study 2 included a direct measure of AE thinking and compared the impact of a low-risk comparison target with a Public Service Announcement (PSA) stating that negative outcomes (STDs) can happen even to low-risk targets. Among high-risk participants, comparing with the low-risk target increased AE thinking. The effects in Studies 1 and 2 were strongest among participants high in tendencies to socially compare. Study 3 explored whether AE thinking could be decreased by encouraging more reasoned processing. Results indicated that asking participants to think about the illogicality of AE thinking reduces AE endorsement and increases STD testing intentions. Findings suggest that comparison-based information can have a stronger influence on health cognitions than analytic-based information (e.g., most PSAs). Implications for dual-processing models of decision-making and their applicability to health messages are discussed.