Russell Alex M, Barry Adam E, Patterson Megan S
Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, USA.
Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA.
Drug Alcohol Rev. 2020 Nov;39(7):984-993. doi: 10.1111/dar.13140. Epub 2020 Aug 10.
Perceptions of peer alcohol use have a strong influence on college students' personal alcohol consumption. Common strategies for measuring students' perceptions of peer alcohol use rely on global student body questions (e.g. 'typical' student use), which overlook the true social contexts of college students. Simply put, persons most likely to influence an individual's behaviour are their closest, most proximal peers. Our objective was to compare whether social norms measures or network measures of peer alcohol use better assess participant alcohol use. Specifically, we compared: (i) perceptions of the 'typical' student's drinking behaviours; versus (ii) egocentric social network measures, in which respondent's report perceptions of the drinking behaviours of personally identified peers.
Three hundred and nine college students reported demographics, personal alcohol use and global perceptions of peer alcohol use. Egocentric network composition was calculated using E-Net. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical linear regression analyses predicting personal drinking (AUDIT-C) were conducted in SPSS.
Respondent's perceptions of peers' drinking behaviours accounted for 9.7% of the variance in personal alcohol use beyond demographics, global perceptions of peer alcohol use and network composition demographics [F(3,280) = 13.391, P < 0.001]. Egocentric social network measures explained more variability in peer influence on personal alcohol consumption than global campus measures.
Personally identified peers have a greater influence on personal alcohol consumption than perceptions of 'typical students'. Thus, future studies would benefit from utilising an egocentric network approach to examine the complex, interpersonal nature of alcohol use among college students.
对同伴饮酒情况的认知对大学生个人饮酒行为有很大影响。衡量学生对同伴饮酒情况认知的常见策略依赖于针对全体学生的一般性问题（例如“典型”学生的饮酒情况），而这忽略了大学生真实的社交环境。简而言之，最有可能影响个人行为的是其最亲密、最接近的同伴。我们的目标是比较同伴饮酒情况的社会规范测量方法和网络测量方法，哪种能更好地评估参与者的饮酒行为。具体而言，我们比较了：（i）对“典型”学生饮酒行为的认知；与（ii）自我中心社会网络测量方法，即让受访者报告对其个人所认定同伴饮酒行为的认知。
309名大学生报告了人口统计学信息、个人饮酒情况以及对同伴饮酒情况的总体认知。使用E-Net计算自我中心网络构成。在SPSS中进行描述性统计和预测个人饮酒情况（酒精使用障碍鉴定测试简版，AUDIT-C）的分层线性回归分析。
受访者对同伴饮酒行为的认知在人口统计学信息、对同伴饮酒情况的总体认知和网络构成人口统计学信息之外，占个人饮酒行为差异的9.7%[F(3,280) = 13.391，P < 0.001]。自我中心社会网络测量方法比校园总体测量方法能解释更多同伴对个人饮酒行为影响的变异性。
个人所认定的同伴对个人饮酒行为的影响大于对“典型学生”的认知。因此，未来的研究采用自我中心网络方法来研究大学生饮酒行为复杂的人际本质将有所助益。
