Department of Psychiatry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA.
J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2011 Sep;72(5):833-43. doi: 10.15288/jsad.2011.72.833.
Perceived descriptive drinking norms often differ from actual norms and are positively related to personal consumption. However, it is not clear how normative perceptions vary with specificity of the reference group. Are drinking norms more accurate and more closely related to drinking behavior as reference group specificity increases? Do these relationships vary as a function of participant demographics? The present study examined the relationship between perceived descriptive norms and drinking behavior by ethnicity (Asian or White), sex, and fraternity/sorority status.
Participants were 2,699 (58% female) White (75%) or Asian (25%) undergraduates from two universities who reported their own alcohol use and perceived descriptive norms for eight reference groups: "typical student"; same sex, ethnicity, or fraternity/sorority status; and all combinations of these three factors.
Participants generally reported the highest perceived norms for the most distal reference group (typical student), with perceptions becoming more accurate as individuals' similarity to the reference group increased. Despite increased accuracy, participants perceived that all reference groups drank more than was actually the case. Across specific subgroups (fraternity/sorority members and men) different patterns emerged. Fraternity/sorority members reliably reported higher estimates of drinking for reference groups that included fraternity/ sorority status, and, to a lesser extent, men reported higher estimates for reference groups that included men.
The results suggest that interventions targeting normative misperceptions may need to provide feedback based on participant demography or group membership. Although reference group-specific feedback may be important for some subgroups, typical student feedback provides the largest normative discrepancy for the majority of students.
感知描述性饮酒规范通常与实际规范不同，与个人消费呈正相关。然而，规范感知如何随参照群体的具体性而变化尚不清楚。随着参照群体特异性的增加，规范感知是否更准确且与饮酒行为更相关？这些关系是否因参与者的人口统计学特征而有所不同？本研究通过种族（亚洲人或白人）、性别和兄弟会/姐妹会身份来检验感知描述性规范与饮酒行为之间的关系。
来自两所大学的 2699 名（58%为女性）白人（75%）或亚洲人（25%）本科生报告了自己的饮酒量和对八个参照群体的感知描述性规范：“典型学生”；相同性别、种族或兄弟会/姐妹会身份；以及这三个因素的所有组合。
参与者通常对最遥远的参照群体（典型学生）报告的感知规范最高，随着个体与参照群体的相似性增加，感知变得更加准确。尽管准确性提高了，但参与者认为所有参照群体的饮酒量都超过了实际情况。在特定的亚组（兄弟会/姐妹会成员和男性）中，出现了不同的模式。兄弟会/姐妹会成员可靠地报告了包括兄弟会/姐妹会身份在内的参照群体的饮酒量更高的估计，而男性则报告了包括男性在内的参照群体的饮酒量更高的估计。
结果表明，针对规范误解的干预措施可能需要根据参与者的人口统计学特征或群体成员提供反馈。虽然针对特定参照群体的反馈可能对某些亚组很重要，但典型学生的反馈为大多数学生提供了最大的规范差异。
