A Longitudinal Social Network Analysis and Intervention for Drinking and Health

 描述(由申请人提供)：大学饮酒可能会带来广泛的负面后果。这些后果被发现与更高的酒精消费量和更积极的同伴和个人对饮酒的态度有关，特别是在希腊生活组织的成员中。虽然问题饮酒的后果及其与规范的同伴行为和态度的关联已经被广泛研究，但关于直接的同伴影响如何以不同的方式影响个体的行为和后果体验，人们知之甚少。这项研究建议的重点是通过对危险饮酒高危学生的个人和组织网络进行审查来解决这一差距。它将考察网络特征与个人饮酒、态度和酒精问题经历之间的关系。这将通过应用社会网络分析来评估个人特征和行为与组织网络特征之间的关系来实现。八个希腊生活组织的样本将从一所大型、多元化的公立大学中招募。参与者将被要求完成一项在线调查，评估他们的态度、行为和体验到的饮酒后果。此外，参与者将提供关于他们最亲密的朋友、与分会其他成员的关系以及这些协会的实力的信息。这些附属信息允许研究团队构建组织网络，旨在检查饮酒行为、态度和问题的分布。数据分析将检查与饮酒行为和后果相关的网络特征，以及随着时间的推移这些特征变化的影响。在12个月的时间里，将对每个希腊生活组织进行两次额外的评估。这项研究的结果将被用来帮助设计有针对性的干预措施，考虑到社会网络因素的影响。通过调整现有的干预措施，我们希望提高其在这一人群中的效力和效力。这 拟议的研究项目支持国家酒精滥用和酒精中毒研究所(NIAAA)的使命，因为它侧重于加强了解同伴对酒精消费的影响，以及网络对与酒精消费相关的健康风险和好处的体验的影响。这项工作的完成将增加NIAAA的任务，以了解酒精消费的结果，并加强用于制定有效的预防和治疗计划的知识。按照NIAAA的战略规划目标，将向研究人员、教育管理人员、学生、政策制定者和公众介绍和传播该项目的成果。总而言之，该项目的获奖和完成将为一位有前途的年轻研究人员提供伦理、方法论、统计学和写作方面的实质性培训，并将满足对社交网络分析、酒精消费和干预方面的创新研究的重大需求。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is a wide range of negative consequences, which can occur as a result of college drinking. These consequences have been found to be associated with higher alcohol consumption and stronger positive peer and personal attitudes towards drinking especially in members of Greek Life Organizations. While the consequences of problematic drinking and their associations with normative peer behaviors and attitudes have been widely studied, less is known about how direct peer influences may differentially affect individual behaviors and experiences of consequences. This research proposal is focused on addressing this gap by the examination of individual and organizational networks of students at high risk for hazardous alcohol consumption. It will examine the relationships between network characteristics and individuals' alcohol consumption, attitudes, and experiences of alcohol problems. This will be achieved by applying the use of Social Network Analysis to assess the relationships between individual characteristics and behaviors and organizational network characteristics. A sample of eight Greek Life Organizations will be recruited from a large diverse public university. Participants will be asked to complete an online survey assessing their attitudes, behaviors, and experienced consequences of drinking. Additionally participants will provide information about their closest friends and relationships with the other members of their chapter and the strength of these associations. This affiliative information allows the research team to construct organization networks designed to examine the distribution of drinking behaviors, attitudes, and problems. Data analysis will examine the network characteristics associated with drinking behaviors and consequences and the impact of changes in those characteristics over time. Two additional assessments will be conducted with each Greek Life organization over the course of 12 months. Findings from this study will be used the help design targeted interventions which account for the impact of social network factors. By adapting existing interventions we hope to improve their effectiveness and efficacy in this population. This proposed research project supports the mission of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) as it focuses on enhancing the understanding of peer influences on alcohol consumption and network influence on experiences of health risks and benefits associated with alcohol consumption. The completion of this work will augment NIAAA missions to understand the outcomes of alcohol consumption, and enhance knowledge used to create effective prevention, and treatment programs. The findings of this project will be presented and disseminated to researchers, education administrators, students, policy makers, and the public, as is in line with the strategic planning goals of NIAAA. In conclusion, the award and completion of this project will afford substantial training in ethics, methodologies, statistics, and writing,to a promising young researcher and will address the significant need for innovative research on social network analysis, alcohol consumption, and interventions.