Heavy drinking is a prevalent public health problem among college students. Presumed under tension reduction theory, students drink to reduce anxiety. Because rates of anxiety appear to be increasing on campuses, we investigated whether anxiety from the fear of missing out (FoMO) was associated with intentions to drink more so than other types of…

Alcohol use among college students has received nationwide recognition as a public health concern. The primary aim of this study was to explore students' opinions of when drinking crosses the line from acceptable to unacceptable. This study used qualitative methods to: (a) examine unappealing aspects of drinking by relationship type…

Data from student-athletes at 15 colleges and universities (N = 4,258) document extensive misperceptions of peer drinking norms and their association with personal quantity of alcohol consumed. Regardless of actual drinking norms at each school, student-athletes commonly overestimated the alcohol consumption norms (both quantity and frequency…

This study examined incoming first-year students' normative perceptions of alcohol use and alcohol-related attitudes of other students of the same gender living on their residence hall floor. Male and female residents overestimated the alcohol use behavior and related attitudes among their floormates. Results also showed that perceived norms were…

Research indicates that social influences impact college students' alcohol consumption; however, how selection processes may serve as an influential factor predicting alcohol use in this population has not been widely addressed. A model of influence and selection processes contributing to alcohol use across the transition to college was examined…

Research on alcohol consumption among college students is often limited by self-reported outcomes and a narrow focus of predictor factors. This study examined both traditional risk factors for alcohol use as well as broader factors (e.g., weather, seasons) in predicting objective negative outcomes of alcohol use--alcohol-related legal infractions…

The present study examines predictors of heavy drinking frequency and drinking-related problems among more than 600 college students. Controlling for high school drinking frequency, results of multiple regression analyses showed that more frequent heavy drinking was predicted by being male and risk factors of more frequent marijuana and tobacco…

Surveys undergraduate students (N=356) to determine factors that predict health-behavior change. AIDS risk was influenced by level of identity and self-confidence, perceived barriers to prevention, and self-efficacy. Alcohol abuse was influenced by perceptions of the severity and barriers, self-efficacy, and social influences. Nutritional…