Campus Location

Abilene Campus (Residential)

Date of Award

5-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Social Work

Degree Name

Master of Science

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Alan Lipps

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Malcolm Scott

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Tyson Alexander

Abstract

Many studies show correlation in the understanding of social norms relating to drugs and alcohol use on college campuses and the effectiveness of campus alcohol education and prevention programs (Borsari & Carey, 2003; Dvorak et al., 2018; LaChance et al., 2009). Interest in alcohol education programs is increasing across the U.S. due to universities being asked to take more accountability for their students’ actions and the consequences of those actions, both on and off campus (Knoll v. Board of Regents of University of Nebraska, 1999). However, managing student drinking patterns is a daunting task for universities, as research indicates that the belief of peer use is the most telling marker of a student’s potential to use, and alcohol consumption is being marketed as central to the college experience by mass media outlets and social media platforms (Cleveland, Turrisi, Reavy, Ackerman, & Buxton, 2018). While there is research available regarding the effectiveness of university alcohol policies and education programs, and the importance of university specific social norming data in effectively implementing both of those things, there has not been any research conducted in the Abilene Christian University (ACU) population to establish a baseline measurement of social norm data and begin the conversation of how these variables affect students’ choices relating to alcohol consumption in their time as students of the university.

The purpose of this study was to gather a baseline measurement of the culture of alcohol use and education as it exists on ACU’s campus. This includes, but is not limited to, analyzing baseline social norm data, measuring the effectiveness of the currently utilized alcohol education curriculum, and analyzing correlations between student characteristics and their reported patterns of use. This thesis will include a review of literature, an explanation of methodology, and an exploration of potential implications for policy, practice, and research that may come as a result of the findings of this study.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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