1. printed by www.postersession.com Predictors of Student Perceptions of College Campus Alcohol and Drug Policies Hortensia Amaro, Ph.D. 1, Sean Tollison 2, Christine Lee, Ph.D. 2, Atsushi Matsumoto, MEd 1 Jianyu Dai, M.Med, MPH 1, Philomena Mantella, Ph.D. 3 1 Institute on Urban Health Research, Northeastern University; 2 Psychology Department, University of Washington; 3 Enrollment Management and Student Life, Northeastern University Previous studies (Kilmer et al., 1999; DeJong & Langford, 2002; Toomey et al., 2007; Wechsler et al., 2002) have identified college campus alcohol and drug (AD) policies as a critical component of use prevention efforts. The present study explores predictors of student awareness of campus AD policies at Northeastern University (NEU), support for and perceptions of policy enforcement, and strictness and effectiveness of policies. Support for AD policies Support for AD policies was predicted by female gender, less frequent binge drinking, and having a stronger perception of others’ caring about problems associated with AD use. Perception of AD policy enforcement The belief that AD policies are enforced was predicted by participation in intramural or club sports, having a stronger perception of others’ caring about problems associated with AD use, not participating in Greek organizations, and a stronger belief that NU alcohol use is less than in other campuses. Perception of AD policy strictness The belief that AD policies are too strict was predicted by younger age, non-participation in intercollegiate athletics, participation in international or language groups, more frequent binge drinking, past year use of drugs other than marijuana, the belief that other students are less caring about problems associated with AD use, and the belief that alcohol use at NU is less than at other campuses. Perception of AD policy effectiveness The belief that AD policies are effective was predicted by a stronger perception that other students are more caring about problems associated with AD use, and the belief that NU students don’t drink as much as students in other campuses. Awareness of specific alcohol-related policies Being older was positively related to awareness of specific alcohol- related policies. Design: A cross sectional research design to assess changes in student use and perceptions of AD use on campus across three cohorts. The data for the present study come from the first cohort of three scheduled cohorts of a representative random sample of undergraduate students stratified by sex, race/ethnicity and class. Asian, Black, Hispanic students were oversampled by 100 each. Data collected via web based survey during January-March 2006. Participants: Study Sample: 1070 students Gender: 58% Female Race/Ethnicity: 10% Hispanic, 7% Black, 15% Asian, 62% White and 6% Other Living Arrangement: 53% live in on campus housing Binge Drinking: 59% (5+drinks in one sitting in past 2 weeks) 30 Day Drug Use: 21% reported use of marijuana or other illegal drugs Measures: Awareness of NEU AD policies, support for and perceptions of policy enforcement, and strictness and effectiveness of policies: “Does your campus have AD policies?” (Yes/No/don’t know) “I support the AD policies of NEU” “The AD policies of NEU are enforced” “The AD policies of NEU are too strict” and “The AD policies of NEU are effective” Students rated the prior 4 statement on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”. In addition, respondents rated their agreement with specific NU AD policies and answered items on demographics, participation in student organizations, binge drinking (number of times had 5 or more drinks in one sitting in the last two weeks), perception of other student concern about problems associated with AD use, and perception about NU student alcohol use compared to other campuses. Statistical Analyses: Separate hierarchical multivariate analyses were performed to test the relationships between individual predictors and student a) support for NU AD policies, b) perception of policy enforcement, c) perception of policy strictness, and d) perception of policy effectiveness - while controlling for possible confounders. The variables were entered as follows: STEP 1: Race/ethnicity STEP 2: Age, gender, residence STEP 3: Dummy coded variable indicating participation in a variety of student organizations STEP 4: Frequency of binge drinking STEP 5: Last year drug use other than marijuana, perception of other students’ concern about problems associated with AD use, perception of NU student alcohol use compared to other campuses PURPOSE METHOD We found a relationship between student perception of others’ caring about problems associated with AD use and support of NU policies and the perception that policies were enforced and effective and not too strict. The belief that NU has higher alcohol use compared to other campuses was associated with the belief that policies were not enforced, were less effective, and not too strict. Conclusions must be tempered since a small amount of variance was explained by the models tested. This suggests a need to explore other predictive factors. Overall, results suggest that initiatives to increase student concern about problems associated with AD use may provide an important avenue for increasing student support and positive perceptions of AD policies. Study funded by grant U18AA015671 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) References: DeJong, W. & Langford, L. M. (2002). A typology for campus-based alcohol prevention: Moving towards environmental management strategies. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Suppl. 14, 140-147. Kilmer, J. R., Larimer, M. E., Parks, G. A., Dimeff, L. A., & Marlatt, G. A. (1999). Liability management or risk management? Evaluation of a Greek system alcohol policy. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 13(4), 269-278. Toomey, T. L., Lenk, K. M., & Wagenaar, A. C. (2007). Environmental policies to reduce college drinking: An update of research findings. Journal of studies on Alcohol and Drugs 68, 208-219. Wechsler, H., Lee, J. E., Nelson, T. F., & Kuo, M. (2002). Underage college students' drinking behavior, access to alcohol, and the influence of deterrence policies. Journal of American College Health, 50(5), 223-236. Contact Information: Hortensia Amaro, PhD h.amaro@neu.edu Institute on Urban Health Research, http://www.bouve.neu.edu/affiliations/iuhr.php Attitudes Regarding AD Policies Results show that on average, students were neutral in their response to support for policies and perceptions of policy enforcement, strictness and effectiveness. Knowledge of Specific NU AD Policies More than half of students were aware of specific NU AD policies. On average, students were neutral in their agreement with these policies. Regression Analyses Notes: Model of awareness of AD policy was not included above due to very low R square (R 2 =0.019). Additional variables (e.g. Marijuana use in last year) were included in preliminary multivariate regression analyses. However, due to lack of significance in any of those models, those variables were excluded in the final models. *p<.05 **p<.01 ***p<.005 ****p<.001 VariableMeanStandard Deviation I support the AD use policies of NU3.191.05 AOD policies are enforced at NU3.560.9 AOD policies of NU are too strict2.931.03 AOD policies of NU are effective2.820.93 Each statement was provided with 5 point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). Agreement with Policy Policy % of Students Indicating AwarenessMeanStandard Deviation Sale, manufacture, use or distribution of alcohol and drugs56.13.251.13 Possession of illegal drugs64.13.321.13 Excessive consumption of alcohol70.83.211.09 Unauthorized alcohol parties62.83.051.13 Possession of unauthorized large quantities of alcohol63.62.991.15 Consumption of alcohol where prohibited64.03.121.06 Each statement was provided with "no/yes" for awareness and Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree) Support for NU AD Policies Perceived Enforcement Perceived Strictness Perceived Effectiveness Standardized Beta Ethnicity Hispanic0.053-0.001-0.012-0.044 White0.0230.0760.004-0.071 Black0.0420.052-0.0050.023 Other-0.0260.0150.044-0.045 Age0.021-0.046 -0.086**0.034 Gender (1=male, 2=female) 0.095***0.005-0.0550.025 Residence (1=on campus, 2=off campus)-0.042-0.059-0.024-0.030 Participation in intercollegiate athletics (0=no, 1=yes)0.024-0.062-0.063*0.028 Participation in intramural or club sports (0=no, 1=yes)-0.005 0.079*0.0280.030 Participation in Greek organizations (0=no, 1=yes)-0.041 -0.067*0.034-0.028 Participation in religious groups (0=no, 1=yes)0.038-0.023-0.0150.021 Participation in international and language groups (0=no, 1=yes)-0.0530.0120.065*-0.035 Participation in minority/ethnic organizations (0=no, 1=yes)0.009-0.013-0.0460.049 Frequency of binge drinking (high score =more frequent) -0.184****0.054 0.247****0.026 Drug use other than marijuana in the past year (0=no, 1=yes)-0.048-0.006 0.068*-0.019 Perception of other students caring about problems associated with alcohol and drug use (not at all, slightly, some, very much; High score = more caring) 0.120**** 0.071* -0.077** 0.143**** Perception of NU alcohol use compared to other campuses (less, about same, greater; High score = perception of greater alcohol use at NEU)0.021 -0.121**** -0.125**** -0.110**** R SquareR²= 0.096R²= 0.049R²= 0.139R²= 0.048 Model 5 Significance 0.000 RESULTSRESULTS (Continued) CONCLUSION