Dempsey, RC, McAlaney, J, Helmer, SM et al. (12 more authors) (2016) Normative Perceptions of Cannabis Use Among European University Students: Associations of Perceived Peer Use and Peer Attitudes With Personal Use and Attitudes. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 77 (5). pp. 740-748. ISSN 1937-1888
Abstract
Objective: Perceptions of peer behavior and attitudes exert considerable social pressure on young adults to use substances. This study investigated whether European students perceive their peers’ cannabis use and approval of cannabis use to be higher than their own personal behaviors and attitudes, and whether estimations of peer use and attitudes are associated with personal use and attitudes. Method: University students (n = 4131) from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom completed an online survey as part of the Social Norms Intervention for Polysubstance usE in students (SNIPE) project, a feasibility study of a web-based normative feedback intervention for substance use. The survey assessed students’ (1) personal substance use and attitudes, and (2) perceptions of their peers’ cannabis use (descriptive norms) and attitudes (injunctive norms). Results: Although most respondents (92%) did not personally use cannabis in the past two months, the majority of students thought that the majority of their peers were using cannabis and that their peers had more permissive attitudes towards cannabis than themselves. Controlling for students’ age, sex, study year and religious beliefs, perceived peer descriptive norms were associated with personal cannabis use (OR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.22, 1.64) and perceived injunctive norms were associated with personal attitudes towards cannabis use (OR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.94). Conclusions: European students appear to possess similar discrepancies between personal and perceived peer norms for cannabis use and attitudes as found in North American students. Interventions which address such discrepancies may be effective in reducing cannabis use.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Keywords: | cannabis; social norms; student health; social influence |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (Leeds) > Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EU - European Union JUST/2009/DPIP/AG/0964 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 09 May 2016 11:22 |
Last Modified: | 30 Sep 2016 10:22 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2016.77.740 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Alcohol Research Documentation |
Identification Number: | 10.15288/jsad.2016.77.740 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:99392 |