Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University.
Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital.
Psychol Addict Behav. 2018 May;32(3):350-357. doi: 10.1037/adb0000361. Epub 2018 Apr 16.
College students may subjectively evaluate the consequences of drinking in unexpected ways, rating "negative" consequences as neutral or even positive experiences. We previously gathered qualitative evidence for several contextual factors that may influence one's subjective evaluations (e.g., social influences, intoxication level, concurrent positive consequences). The purpose of the present study was to quantitatively investigate whether student evaluations of consequences differ by various contextual factors. We administered an anonymous online survey to 214 college students (76% female, 69% drinkers, 48% heavy drinkers) in return for academic credit, on which they reported how positively or negatively they would evaluate 6 alcohol-related consequences (e.g., vomiting, being rude, blacking out) under different conditions. Paired samples tests were used to compare evaluation ratings, averaged across consequences, under different hypothetical contextual conditions (e.g., among friends vs. strangers). Out of 16 contextual comparisons, all but one (first-time vs. repeated consequence) revealed significant differences in subjective evaluations; the pattern held in reduced samples of just drinkers or just heavy drinkers. Examples include that consequences were viewed more negatively (a) if occurring at either a party or bar versus alone in one's home/dorm, (b) if friends express concern versus find it funny, (c) if the consequence was expected versus unexpected, and (d) if there are lasting consequences versus none. When using recent consequences in feedback-based interventions to build motivation to change, it may be useful to discuss the context of a consequence and how this influences the perceived aversiveness of that consequence. (PsycINFO Database Record
大学生可能会以意想不到的方式主观评估饮酒的后果，将“负面”后果评定为中性甚至积极的体验。我们之前收集了一些可能影响个体主观评估的定性证据（例如，社会影响、醉酒程度、同时存在的积极后果）。本研究的目的是定量研究各种情境因素是否会影响学生对后果的评估。我们通过匿名在线调查的方式，向 214 名大学生（76%为女性，69%为饮酒者，48%为重度饮酒者）发放问卷，以学术学分作为回报，让他们在不同条件下报告他们会如何积极或消极地评价 6 种与酒精相关的后果（例如，呕吐、无礼、断片）。我们使用配对样本检验来比较不同假设情境条件下（例如，与朋友相比与陌生人相比），所有后果的评估评分的平均值。在 16 个情境比较中，除了一个（首次饮酒与重复饮酒的后果）之外，所有比较都显示出在主观评估上存在显著差异；这种模式在只包括饮酒者或只包括重度饮酒者的样本中也成立。例如，如果后果发生在派对或酒吧，而不是一个人在家/宿舍，后果被认为更负面；如果朋友表示担忧而不是觉得有趣，后果被认为更负面；如果后果是预期的，而不是意外的，后果被认为更负面；如果有持续的后果，而不是没有后果，后果被认为更负面。在使用基于反馈的干预措施来建立改变动机时，根据后果的情境来讨论后果如何影响人们对该后果的厌恶程度，可能会很有用。
