DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/YBZ6-PP59
Defense Date
2010
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Sociology & Anthropology
First Advisor
Sarah Brubaker
Abstract
This study involves the examination of National Collegiate Health Assessment (NCHA) data collected by the VCU Wellness Resource Center. This study will compare trends in college student health behavior perceptions and personal activity regarding alcohol use, as self-reported via the NCHA data, with a particular focus on a comparison between 2002, which is the year that the Wellness Resource Center (then known as the Office of Health Promotion) first implemented an alcohol education campaign based upon a “social norms” theoretical framework, and 2004, after 18 months of intensive campaigning. Thus, the aim of the project is to examine the changes in student behavior regarding alcohol usage and student perceptions in the prevalence of alcohol usage, after two years of social norms-based campaigning, while controlling for factors such as sex and place of residence. The measures that are analyzed are based upon the number of alcoholic drinks that students reported imbibing during the last time they socialized and the number of alcohol drinks that the students reported to be what they considered the norm during such periods of socializing. This data is supplemented by a calculation of blood alcohol concentration (BAC), acquired through use of personal information that students reported on the NCHA, in order to more accurately describe student drinking behaviors.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
April 2010