A new study examined the relative importance of one’s attitude toward alcohol use as a unique and important predictor of drinking related outcomes (drinks per week, binge drinking frequency, and alcohol related problems) when directly compared to perceived descriptive and injunctive norms. Participants (N = 568) were undergraduate mandated students from a large public university who had violated a campus alcohol policy. To complete the standard sanction requirements, participants completed a baseline survey, received a Brief Motivational Intervention and responded to a one-month follow-up survey. The survey included questions regarding alcohol consumption, which was measured using the Daily Drinking Questionnaire (DDQ), alcohol related consequences, which was assessed using the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (BYAACQ), attitudes toward moderate drinking and heavy drinking as well as perceived descriptive norms related to alcohol use, which was assessed using the Drinking Norms Rating Form. The authors used linear regression for predictions and to evaluate the relative importance of predictors, i.e. perceived descriptive norms and injunctive norms, and attitudes toward moderate and heavy alcohol use. Results showed that women drank fewer drinks per week (p < 0.001) and reported fewer binge drinking episodes (p < 0.001) than men. When examining attitudes as unique predictors of drinks per week, having a more favorable attitude toward moderate drinking was associated with fewer drinks per week. On the other hand, having a more favorable attitude toward heavy consumption was associated with more drinks per week. In addition, male gender, greater baseline drinks per week, and stronger descriptive norms were associated with greater drinks per week. As for binge drinking frequency, stronger descriptive norms were associated with more frequent binge drinking and attitude toward moderate drinking was inversely associated with binge drinking, while attitude toward heavy drinking was positively associated with frequency of binge drinking. As for alcohol-related problems, stronger descriptive norms were the only significant predictor.
Take away: Both drinking attitudes and perceived descriptive norms consistently emerged as independent predictors of drinks per week, binge frequency, and alcohol-related problems.