141st APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

293568
Understanding parents' motivation to communicate with their first-year college student about alcohol: A modification and extension of the theory of normative social behavior


Monday, November 4, 2013

Erica L. Spies, MS, College of Public Health, Department of Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Shelly Campo, PhD, Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Iowa City, IA
Marizen Ramirez, MPH, PhD, Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Anne H. Skinstad, Ph.D., Department of Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Keli Steuber, Ph.D., Department of Communication Studies, University of Iowa, Iowa City
Briana Woods-Jaeger, PhD, Community & Behavioral Health, University of Iowa, College of Public Health, Iowa City, IA
Background: First-year college students are at higher risk for heavy episodic drinking (HED) and the negative consequences associated with this behavior compared to other college cohorts. Parents' communication about alcohol has been found to be a protective factor for HED.

Objectives: This study used a modification the theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) to explain parents' communication about alcohol with their first-year college student. TNSB suggests injunctive norms and outcome expectations moderate the relationship between descriptive norms and behavior. In this study we predicted parents' communication about alcohol, with TNSB and with the addition of the communication efficacy, perceptions of severity and susceptibility of alcohol-related consequences as additional moderators.

Methods: This study was conducted using a web survey of parents (N = 890) of first-year students to assess their communication about alcohol, parenting style, normative perceptions related to college students' alcohol use, outcome expectations of talking about alcohol with their student, communication efficacy, and perceptions of severity and susceptibility related to alcohol use. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the relationships among variables. Results: Parents with higher levels of authoritative parenting discussed more alcohol-related topics. Descriptive norms, injunctive norms, outcome expectations, and perceptions of susceptibility were all significantly and positively related to communication. Injunctive norms, outcome expectations, and perceptions of susceptibility moderated the relationship between descriptive norms and communication.

Conclusion: Findings suggest parent interventions to encourage parent communication should consider parenting style, injunctive norms, parents' communication outcome expectations and parents' perceptions of susceptibility to further enhance parent communication.

Learning Areas:

Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Identify and define constructs of the theory of normative social behavior in the context of parents' communication about alcohol with their first-year college student. Discuss how the theory of normative social behavior can inform future parent-based interventions aimed at reducing heavy episodic drinking among college students.

Keyword(s): Alcohol, College Students

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: this work was part of my dissertation. I proposed the study and conducted the data analyses.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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