Joseph W. LaBrie

Measuring alcohol-related protective behavioral strategies among college students: further examination of the Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale.

Heavy drinking among college students has been recognized as a public health problem on American college campuses (e.g., R. Hingson, T. Heeren, M. Winter, & H. Wechsler, 2005). Recently, protective behavioral strategies, or cognitive-behavioral strategies that can be implemented when using alcohol to reduce consumption and resulting negative consequences, have been shown to be associated with less alcohol use and fewer alcohol-related problems (e.g., S. L. Benton et al., 2004; M. P. Martens et al., 2005). The purpose of the present study was to conduct additional psychometric work on a measure designed to assess the use of such strategies: the Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale (PBSS; M. P. Martens et al., 2005). Data were collected on 505 undergraduate students from 2 universities who reported having consumed alcohol at least once in the past 30 days. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized 3-factor version of the PBSS, and scores on each subscale were correlated in the expected direction with both alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Thus, the PBSS appears to be reliable and valid for use among college student drinkers.

Partying Before the Party: Examining Prepartying Behavior Among College Students

Objective: The authors examined the phenomenon known to college students as prepartying, which is the consumption of alcohol prior to attending an event or activity (eg, party, bar, concert) at which more alcohol may be consumed. Participants: To explore the extent of this behavior, the authors surveyed 227 college students about each drinking event over a 1-month period. Results: Principal results revealed that 64% of participants engaged in prepartying (75% of drinkers) and that prepartying is involved in approximately 45% of all drinking events. Prepartying was predictive of more drinking throughout the day of the drinking event and alcohol-related negative consequences. Men and women engaged in this behavior at similar rates, and prepartying was most related to social reasons for drinking. Conclusion: Because prepartying is well-known among students, the authors suggest that clinicians and researchers target it to better understand college drinking and to help students understand the associated dangers.

Effects of alcohol, expectancies, and partner type on condom use in college males: Event‐level analyses

Sexually active heterosexual college males (N = 93) provided data on over 1,500 sexual encounters. Alcohol consumption, expectancies about alcohols impact on condom use, and partner type each contributed to use of a condom. Partner type covaried with alcohol consumption and condom use. The men consumed significantly more alcohol with new partners, followed by casual partners, and then by regular partners. In contrast, they were more likely to use condoms with new partners than with casual or regular partners. Drinking alcohol decreased condom use, but only with casual partners. Expectancies about alcohols disinhibiting sexual effects decreased condom use as well. These data suggest that alcohol consumption does decrease condom use, particularly with casual partners and when drinkers believe alcohol alters sexual disinhibition. Improving knowledge about HIV and other STD transmission in casual partners and challenging expectancies about alcohol as a sexual disinhibitor could help decrease the spread of HIV and other STDs.

Live Interactive Group-Specific Normative Feedback Reduces Misperceptions and Drinking in College Students: A Randomized Cluster Trial

This research evaluated the efficacy of a live and interactive group-specific normative feedback intervention designed to correct misperceptions of alcohol-related group norms and subsequently reduce drinking behavior. Campus organizations (N = 20) containing 1,162 college students were randomly assigned to intervention or assessment-only control conditions. Participants in the intervention condition attended an intervention during their organizations regular standing meeting. Data were gathered in vivo using computerized handheld keypads into which participants entered personal responses to a series of alcohol-related questions assessing perceptions of normative group behavior as well as actual individual behavior. These data were then immediately presented in graphical form to illustrate discrepancies between perceived and actual behavioral group norms. Results indicated that compared with the control group, the intervention group reduced drinking behavior and misperceptions of group norms at 1-month and 2-month follow-ups. Changes in perceived norms mediated the reductions in drinking. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of a novel, technologically advanced, group-based, brief alcohol intervention that can be implemented with entire groups at relatively low cost.

Protective behavioral strategies mediate the effect of drinking motives on alcohol use among heavy drinking college students: Gender and race differences

OBJECTIVE This study examined the extent to which protective behavioral strategies (PBS) mediated the influence of drinking motives on alcohol consumption, and if these hypothesized relationships were corroborated across subsamples of gender and race. METHOD Online surveys were completed by 1592 heavy drinking college undergraduates from two universities (49.9% male and 50.1% female; 76.9% Caucasian and 23.1% Asian). Independent samples t-tests compared males and females as well as Caucasians and Asians on measures of drinking motives, PBS use, and alcohol consumption, and structural equation models examined the mediating role of PBS. RESULTS Consistent with predictions, t-tests revealed that males reported greater levels of consumption than females, but females reported greater use of PBS than males. Caucasians reported greater consumption levels, endorsed higher enhancement motives, and higher PBS related to serious harm reduction, but Asians endorsed higher coping and conformity motives, and PBS focused on stopping/limiting drinking. In multiple-sample SEM analyses, PBS were shown to largely mediate the relationship between motives and consumption in all demographic subsamples. CONCLUSIONS Findings indicate that PBS use leads to reductions in drinking despite pre-established drinking motives, hence pointing to the potential value of standalone PBS skills training interventions in lowering alcohol use among diverse groups of heavy drinking college students.

Symptoms of schizotypy precede cannabis use.

The current investigation uses a large non-clinical sample of undergraduate college students (N=189) to investigate schizotypal traits among cannabis and non-cannabis users, as well as the temporal order of the onset of these traits and cannabis use. Findings suggest that regular cannabis users are significantly more prone to cognitive and perceptual distortions as well as disorganization, but not interpersonal deficits, than non-regular users and those who have never used. Additionally, the onset of schizotypal symptoms generally precedes the onset of cannabis use. The findings do not support a causal link between cannabis use and schizotypal traits.

Identifying Factors That Increase the Likelihood for Alcohol-Induced Blackouts in the Prepartying Context

The present study examined risk factors related to “blacking out” (e.g., temporary periods of memory loss during drinking) during preparty drinking events (i.e., pregaming, predrinking). Participants were students from two universities on the West Coast who reported past month prepartying (N = 2,546) in online surveys administered in the fall of 2008. Among these students, 25% (n = 636) reported blacking out during at least one occasion in which they prepartied in the past month. A logistic regression model underscored that Greek student affiliation, family history of alcohol abuse, frequency of prepartying, and both playing drinking games and consuming shots of liquor while prepartying increased the likelihood of blacking out. Limitations and implications for future research and collegiate prevention strategies are discussed.

Before You Slip into the Night, You'll Want Something to Drink: Exploring the Reasons for Prepartying Behavior Among College Student Drinkers

Prepartying among college students is an emerging topic of research and clinical focus. Unfortunately for some students, prepartying, or quick drinking before going out for the primary event of the evening, can lead to high blood alcohol levels, further drinking, and subsequent consequences. The present study was designed to explore the reasons for prepartying among a sample of 444 male and female students. Males and females reported arriving to a social event already under the influence, saving money, and making the night more interesting as their most highly endorsed reasons for prepartying. Males endorsed reasons relating to increased social and sexual facilitation with opposite sex peers to a greater extent than females. Although underage and legal drinking age participants did not differ in prepartying frequency or typical quantity, underage students reached higher estimated blood alcohol levels during prepartying. Finally, alcohol-related consequences were significantly and positively associated with nearly all reasons for prepartying for both men and women.

A brief live interactive normative group intervention using wireless keypads to reduce drinking and alcohol consequences in college student athletes

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS Misperceptions of how members of ones social group think and act influence behaviour. The current study was designed to extend the research of group-specific normative feedback interventions among salient campus groups with heightened risk. Although not a randomised controlled trial, this research used normative feedback that was obtained using wireless keypad technology during a live session, within sex-specific student athlete groups to extend the proof of concept of using this brief interactive intervention. DESIGN AND METHODS Participants included 660 intercollegiate athletes from all varsity athletic teams at two private, mid-size universities. Intervention data were gathered in vivo using computerised handheld keypads into which group members entered in personal responses to a series of alcohol-related questions. These questions assessed perceptions of normative group behaviour and attitudes as well as actual individual behaviour and attitudes. These data were then immediately presented back in graphical form to illustrate discrepancies between perceived and actual group norms. RESULTS Results revealed that at 1 month post-intervention, perceived group norms, behaviour, attitudes and consequences reduced compared with baseline. These reductions were maintained at 2 month follow up. Latent growth modelling suggested that the reductions in perceived norms and attitudes were associated with reductions in individual drinking behaviour and negative consequences. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS These results are among the first to suggest the effectiveness of a novel, group-based normative alcohol intervention among student athletes. Limitations of the design preclude strong inferences about efficacy; however, the findings support further trialling of such information technology in alcohol treatment research.

Global sleep quality as a moderator of alcohol consumption and consequences in college students.

The authors examined the relationship between global sleep quality and alcohol risk, including the extent to which global sleep quality moderated the relationship between alcohol use and drinking-related consequences. Global sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and alcohol-related consequences were assessed using the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI). The sample consisted of 261 college students (61.3% female, 58.2% Caucasian) who completed online surveys. Using a four-step hierarchical multiple regression model, global sleep quality was found to predict alcohol consequences, over and above assessed covariates (demographics and weekly drinking). Further, global sleep quality emerged as a strong moderator in the drinking-consequences relationship such that among heavier drinkers, those with poorer global sleep quality experienced significantly greater alcohol-related harm. Campus health education and alcohol interventions may be adapted to address the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, both in terms of healthful sleeping and drinking behaviors, which appear to play a strong synergistic role in alcohol-related risk.