Letter to the editor: Results of faculty student alcohol survey in
Issue date: 5/9/06 Section: Opinion
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In March, faculty and students were kind enough to use class time so that students could participate in an alcohol survey conducted by a psychology department faculty-student research group. We promised to share information with the University community before the semester was over. Although data entry and analysis are not yet complete, we have results for 665 students and wanted to present some preliminary findings.
Our primary hypothesis was that students often misperceive the campus norm for alcohol use, overestimating how much other students really drink. This, in turn, could lead to an increase in alcohol use as students attempt to conform to this exaggerated norm. Our findings largely support this hypothesis.
For example, greek students significantly overestimate how much other greek students drink, males significantly overestimate how much other males drink, and independents significantly overestimate how much other independents drink. In addition, students in general believe that other DePauw students have a more accepting attitude about alcohol than is actually the case.
Although there are some discouraging findings about the amount that students drink, there are also some encouraging results. There's a significant non-drinking presence on campus (16 percent of students, which translates to over 350 students) and many students engage in a variety of protective behaviors when they drink (for example, the majority of students who drink report eating before drinking and walking rather than driving when they drink).
We want to emphasize that this group is independent of the University administration, although we hope that we can help create a healthier campus climate by correcting misperceptions and accurately informing students about the alcohol attitudes and behaviors of their peers.
Professor Pam Propsom
Brittany Barber, senior
Lindsay Eckert, junior
Kate Evans, senior
Tanja Gazibara, senior
Jessica Krueger, junior
Jenny Porter, junior
Kathryn Sharp, senior
Jessica Strong, sophomore
Our primary hypothesis was that students often misperceive the campus norm for alcohol use, overestimating how much other students really drink. This, in turn, could lead to an increase in alcohol use as students attempt to conform to this exaggerated norm. Our findings largely support this hypothesis.
For example, greek students significantly overestimate how much other greek students drink, males significantly overestimate how much other males drink, and independents significantly overestimate how much other independents drink. In addition, students in general believe that other DePauw students have a more accepting attitude about alcohol than is actually the case.
Although there are some discouraging findings about the amount that students drink, there are also some encouraging results. There's a significant non-drinking presence on campus (16 percent of students, which translates to over 350 students) and many students engage in a variety of protective behaviors when they drink (for example, the majority of students who drink report eating before drinking and walking rather than driving when they drink).
We want to emphasize that this group is independent of the University administration, although we hope that we can help create a healthier campus climate by correcting misperceptions and accurately informing students about the alcohol attitudes and behaviors of their peers.
Professor Pam Propsom
Brittany Barber, senior
Lindsay Eckert, junior
Kate Evans, senior
Tanja Gazibara, senior
Jessica Krueger, junior
Jenny Porter, junior
Kathryn Sharp, senior
Jessica Strong, sophomore
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