Search

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 = 4,131) 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' (a) personal substance use and attitudes and (b) 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 2 months, the majority of students thought that the majority of their peers were using cannabis and that their peers had more permissive attitudes toward cannabis than they did. When we controlled for students' age, sex, study year, and religious beliefs, perceived peer descriptive norms were associated with personal cannabis use (odds ratio [OR] = 1.42; 95% CI [1.22, 1.64]) and perceived injunctive norms were associated with personal attitudes toward 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 that address such discrepancies may be effective in reducing cannabis use.

Introduction: Research conducted in North America suggests that students tend to overestimate tobacco use among their peers. This perceived norm may impact personal tobacco use. It remains unclear how these perceptions influence tobacco use among European students. The two aims were to investigate possible self-other discrepancies regarding personal use and attitudes towards use and to evaluate if perceptions of peer use and peer approval of use are associated with personal use and approval of tobacco use., Methods: The EU-funded 'Social Norms Intervention for the prevention of Polydrug usE' study was conducted in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Slovak Republic, Spain, Turkey and United Kingdom. In total, 4482 students (71% female) answered an online survey including questions on personal and perceived tobacco use and personal and perceived attitudes towards tobacco use., Results: Across all countries, the majority of students perceived tobacco use of their peers to be higher than their own use. The perception that the majority (>50%) of peers used tobacco regularly in the past two months was significantly associated with higher odds for personal regular use (OR: 2.66, 95% CI: 1.90-3.73). The perception that the majority of peers approve of tobacco use was significantly associated with higher odds for personal approval of tobacco use (OR: 6.49, 95% CI: 4.54-9.28)., Conclusions: Perceived norms are an important predictor of personal tobacco use and attitudes towards use. Interventions addressing perceived norms may be a viable method to change attitudes and tobacco use among European students, and may be a component of future tobacco control policy., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore perceptions of peer substance use and related attitudes among European students. Challenging perceptions about peer substance use has become the basis of a form of prevention and intervention known as the social norms approach, which can be delivered using personalized online feedback. This article reports baseline alcohol use and attitudes data for university students across Europe collected as part of the Social Norms Intervention for the prevention of Polydrug usE project (Project SNIPE)., Method: Students from universities in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom were recruited to take part in an online survey by the use of email invitations, social media, classroom announcements, flyers, and stalls in social areas, such as in cafeterias and bars on campus. A total of 4,482 students agreed to participate., Results: Overall, respondents reported both perceived alcohol use and perceived acceptance of alcohol use among their peers that were higher than their own use or acceptance. Perceived peers' behaviors and attitudes were found to be predictive of personal behaviors and attitudes, with some variation across countries and by sex., Conclusions: The results suggest that students at the participating institutions across selected European countries exhibit overall similar patterns of perceptions as have been found on American college campuses. In conjunction with the finding that the perceived norm is predictive of personal behavior and attitudes, this research provides support to the view that the social norms approach may be a viable method to reduce alcohol consumption among students at European universities.