Interpersonal Influence and Alcohol-Related Interventions in the College Environment.

Autor/inn/en	Thomas, Richard W.; Seibold, David R.
Titel	Interpersonal Influence and Alcohol-Related Interventions in the College Environment.
Quelle	(1994), (48 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Alcohol Abuse; College Environment; Communication Research; Driving While Intoxicated; Higher Education; Interpersonal Communication; Peer Influence; Sex Differences; Undergraduate Students + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Hochschulumwelt; Kommunikationsforschung; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Interpersonale Kommunikation; Sex difference; Geschlechtsunterschied
Abstract	A study examined the interpersonal influence strategies reported by college students in two alcohol-related situations--a drunk driving intervention situation and a non-driving alcohol abuse situation. Subjects, 489 undergraduate students attending a large midwestern university, a large central midwestern university, or a mid-sized upper midwestern university, completed a 5-part questionnaire. Results indicated that: (1) students employed a variety of influence tactics when attempting to intervene in alcohol-related situations; (2) these influence strategies varied in their degree of assertiveness; and (3) students' employed multiple influence attempts in order to achieve their goal. Analyses also provided support for two hypotheses: college students reported using positively valenced strategies far more frequently than negatively valenced strategies, especially in initial intervention attempts; and negatively valenced strategies were more successful in gaining compliance from the target than were positively valenced strategies. Examination of situational and individual difference factors affecting strategy usage revealed that gender of both the influence agent and the influence target significantly impacted strategy usage, especially in initial intervention attempts, and that the goal of the influence attempt rather than the situation in which the intervention occurred contributed more to influencers' use of strategies across intervention attempts. Findings suggest that college students are faced with decisions to intervene in alcohol-related situations quite frequently, that they choose to help their drinking peers in many instances, and that persistence in the influence process is important. (Contains 113 references and 13 tables of data.) (Author/RS)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC