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Background: Excessive drinking is commonplace at UK Universities. Individuals may misperceive how much they drink compared to others and are less likely to think that they will suffer adverse consequences. Young people often distance themselves and their friends from ‘problem drinkers’. Objectives: The aim of the study was to explore how student drinkers compared their own drinking behaviours to the drinking behaviours of others. Methods: An online survey was completed by 416 students aged 18-30 (68.5% female). They were asked ‘how do you think your drinking compares with other people like you?’ and ‘how do you think your behaviour when you drink compares with other people like you?’ Answers were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: The first main theme was about ‘identification as a ‘good’ drinker’. Participants suggested their own behaviour when drinking was similar to their sober behaviour. Further, they viewed themselves as more able to maintain a balance between staying in control and having fun while drinking. The second main theme was about ‘distancing from being a ‘bad’ drinker. Participants distanced themselves from negative prototypical drinkers, such compulsive or anti-social drinkers. They also attributed their own drinking behaviours to situational factors, but described other people as intentionally violent or aggressive. Conclusions/Importance: These findings may explain the failure of some health messages to change drinking behaviours. If drinkers perceive that their behaviour when they drink is better than other people’s then they may discount intervention messages. Targeting these biases could be incorporated into future interventions.

Purpose: Sexual assault is prevalent on UK University campuses, and prevention efforts are being increased. However, at present there is limited evidence about UK students’ attitudes towards sexual assault prevention and what they think should be done to effectively address the issue. The purpose of this study was to explore these views to provide a foundation for the development of a new intervention. Methods: A cross sectional anonymous online survey was completed by 515 students (73% women; M age 21.56; 79% heterosexual; 82.9% White). There were quantitative questions about experiences of sexual assault, attitudes towards sexual consent and victim blaming. Qualitative data was collected regarding participants’ views on what universities should do to target sexual assault. Findings: In line with previous studies, we found evidence of commonplace and normalised sexual assault behaviours. Women had more positive attitudes towards explicit consent than men, and were less likely to blame victims of sexual assault who had been drinking. Consent behaviour was predicted by positive views towards consent and lower levels of blaming. Themes relating to ‘awareness’, ‘attitudes’, ‘environment’ and ‘opposition’ were identified in the qualitative data. Practical implications: Findings highlight the importance of engaging with students to develop effective prevention measures. Students are likely to find university led prevention strategies acceptable, but this topic needs to be addressed in the context of the prevailing culture, which may provide an environment where certain behaviours are tolerated. New prevention programmes need to treat the issue as one that is relevant to all students and not just target men as perpetrators and women as victims. Such strategies need to do more than treat this as an isolated issue, to which the solution is re-education about the meaning of consent.

Background: Studies exploring ‘anticipated regret’ concerning alcohol rarely consider the broader consequences of excessive drinking that might be regretted. Even if specific regrettable experiences are identified, interventions targeting them may not succeed because individuals are often optimistic about their risk susceptibility. Objectives: This study examined the consequences young adult drinkers reported, and the extent to which these were regretted. It then explored whether consequences and regrets differentiated between high risk, low risk and light drinkers, and whether regret was related to optimism. Methods: A cross-sectional on-line questionnaire measured drinking behaviour, consequences (frequency) and regrets (extent of likely regret) and risk perceptions (in general, and compared to others). Results: 273 participants were recruited (light (30%), low-risk (40%), and high-risk drinkers (30%). PCA detected three types of experience (common – e.g. vomiting; after-effects – e.g. being depressed; and ‘serious’ – e.g. drunk-driving), and three types of regret (‘serious’ – e.g. being aggressive; ‘common’ – e.g. wasting time; and ‘risky behaviour regrets’ – e.g. drugs). Multinomial regression found the high-risk drink group more likely to be male, had more experiences but regretted these experiences less than other groups. Regrets and optimism interacted, so that higher scores on common regrets were associated with greater optimism. The high-risk group was particularly characterised by optimism. Conclusions: High-risk drinkers may be unresponsive to anticipated regret manipulations as they do not regret post-alcohol ‘bad’ experiences, and some regrets were associated with comparative optimism. Interventions may need to focus less on regret and aim to change risk perceptions.

Objective: Increasing knowledge about alcohol related harms, changing social norms, or encouraging drinking within safe unit levels often fails to change behaviour in young people. A novel intervention called ‘OneTooMany’ was developed which targets the short term social, and potentially, embarrassing consequences of drinking alcohol. The aim of this paper was to explore its acceptability, and to determine any features that might influence its effectiveness as a means of reducing alcohol consumption. Methods: Participants were 23 young adults (aged 18-30) currently studying at university (N=18) or in the first six months following graduation (N=5). A think aloud interview approach was employed. Three main themes were identified in a deductive thematic analysis. Results: Embarrassing experiences were a normalised part of drinking occasions, while some were actively avoided, others were celebrated. Humour served as a device to engage and interest participants, but could also diminish intervention messages. OneTooMany prompted reflections on many regrettable drinking experiences, but the participants did not see themselves as the target audience for this intervention. Conclusions: Interventions may benefit from focussing on some of the short term, embarrassing consequences of excessive alcohol consumption. Further research is needed to ensure that reflections on past behaviour are helpful in addressing future behaviour.

The health benefits of exercise in school are recognised, yet physical activity continues to decline during early adolescence despite numerous interventions. In this study we investigated whether the Prototype Willingness Model, an account of adolescent decision-making that includes both reasoned behavioural choices and unplanned responses to social environments, might improve understanding of physical activity in school. We conducted focus groups with British pupils aged 12-13 and used deductive thematic analysis to search for themes relating to the model. Participants described reasoned decisions about physical activity outside school and unplanned choices to be inactive during break, in response to social contexts described as more ‘judgmental’ than in primary school. Social contexts appeared characterised by anxiety about competence, negative peer evaluation and inactive playground norms. The Prototype Willingness Model might more fully explain physical activity in school than reasoned behavioural models alone, indicating potential for interventions targeting anxieties about playground social environments.

Purpose: Many existing interventions to reduce excessive drinking in University students attempt to target individual cognitions, which ignore the wider contextual features that drive excessive drinking and mark it as an important aspect of university life. The overall aim of this study was to explore students’ views about preventing excessive drinking at university, specifically by using frameworks that take into both account individual and social influences. Methods: Twenty-three young adults aged 20-30 (12 females; M age = 22.91; SD = 2.57; 18 students, 5 recent graduates) took part in semi-structured interviews to explore their views about drinking and measures to reduce excessive consumption. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: There were three themes identified in the analysis. These themes were named ‘the role of alcohol in student life’, drinking transitions’, and ‘prevention challenges’ and each had related sub-themes. Practical implications: Targeting students before they commence their course and highlighting aspects of university life that do not involve alcohol may help to reduce the pressure often felt to drink in social situations. Providing novel, credible alternative socialising options that do not involve alcohol should be explored to determine their acceptability, and their potential to reduce excessive drinking. Originality/value: Few studies explore what students themselves think about reducing alcohol consumption, and most interventions focus on changing individual cognitions rather than features of the social environment. This study highlights that changing social practices related to drinking in combination with targeting individuals may be more fruitful approach to reduce excessive alcohol consumption.

Background: Alcohol misuse is associated with a number of health risks and harms that may be particularly detrimental to adolescents. Existing interventions for which there is evidence of effectiveness are time and cost intensive. Brief interventions or classroom delivered programmes are often ineffective, possibly due to their basis in rational models of behaviour. Young people’s risk taking behaviour may be better understood from a dual process perspective, which assumes two routes to behaviour; one rational and planned, the other a faster, reactive and spontaneous route. The Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) assumes that for adolescents, reactive behaviour is a result of the contemplation of ‘prototypes’ or widely held social images about the type of person who engages in a risk behaviour. Evaluation of these prototypes influences ‘willingness’ or an openness to the opportunity to engage a specific behaviour through a process of social comparison. Aim: The PWM has been applied to numerous risk behaviours and populations but there is less research in relation to its application to teenage drinking in a UK context. Thus, the overall aim of the thesis was to develop an intervention targeting constructs in the social reaction pathway in the PWM in order to explore its application to understanding and preventing alcohol misuse in young people. Method: This project used mixed methods and had a multiphase design with separate stages. A framework to guide development of a theory based intervention was proposed. This seven step framework built on existing guidance from Intervention Mapping and the Medical Research Council. The findings from each step are set out below. Findings: Step One: Evidence from a literature review suggested that the social reaction pathway in the PWM may be an appropriate theoretical basis for an intervention to reduce alcohol misuse in young people. Much of the evidence base comes from the USA or from studies that use college students. Step Two

Background: The Strengthening Families Programme for youth aged 10-14 and parents/carers (SFP10-14) is a family-based prevention intervention with positive results in trials in the United States. We assessed the effectiveness of SFP10-14 for preventing substance misuse in Poland. Methods: Cluster randomized controlled trial with 20 communities (511 families; 614 young people) were allocated to SFP10-14 or a control arms. Primary outcomes were alcohol, smoking and other drug use. Secondary outcomes included parenting practices, parent–child relations, and child problem behaviour. Interview-based questionnaires were administered at baseline and at 12- and 24-months post-baseline, with respective 70.4% and 54.4% follow-up rates. Results: In Bayesian regression models with complete case data we found no effects of SFP10-14 for any of the primary or secondary outcomes at either follow-up. For example at 24-months, posterior odds ratios and 95% credible intervals for past year alcohol use, past month binge drinking, past year smoking, and past year other drug use, were 0.83 (0.44-1.56), 0.83 (0.27-2.65), 1.94 (0.76-5.38), and 0.74 (0.15-3.58), respectively. Although moderate to high attrition rates, together with some evidence of systematic attrition bias according to parent education and family disposable income, could have biased the results, the results were supported in further analyses with propensity score matched data and 40 multiple imputed datasets. Conclusion: We found no evidence for the effectiveness of SFP10-14 on the prevention of alcohol or tobacco use, parenting behaviour, parent-child relations or 4 child problem behaviour at 12- or 24-month follow-up in a large cluster randomised controlled trial in Poland.

This study sought feedback from teachers and adolescents on a novel intervention to reduce alcohol misuse based on the Prototype Willingness Model. A qualitative, think aloud interview study was conducted with 17 adolescents aged 11-14 and nine teachers. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Adolescents found the content of the intervention appealing and credible. Teachers welcomed the content and format of as a means of generating discussion. ‘Moderate’ drinking appeared to be an acceptable message, although difficult to define. Enacting ‘if-then’ plans in real social situations might be challenging and representations of drinking on social media should be considered.

Objectives: Dual process models, such as the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM), propose to account for both intentional and reactive drinking behaviour. Current methods of measuring constructs in the PWM rely on self-report, thus require a level of conscious deliberation. Implicit measures of attitudes may overcome this limitation and contribute to our understanding of how prototypes and willingness influence alcohol consumption in young people. This study aimed to explore whether implicit alcohol attitudes were related to PWM constructs and if they would add to the prediction of risky drinking. Design: The study involved a cross-sectional design. The sample included 501 participants from the United Kingdom (Mean age 18.92; range 11-51; 63% female); 230 school pupils and 271 university students. Methods: Participants completed explicit measures of alcohol prototype perceptions, willingness, drunkenness, harms, and intentions. They also completed an implicit measure of alcohol attitudes, using the Implicit Association Test. Results: Implicit alcohol attitudes were only weakly related to the explicit measures. When looking at the whole sample, implicit alcohol attitudes did not add to the prediction of willingness over and above prototype perceptions. However, for university students implicit attitudes added to the prediction of behaviour, over and above intentions and willingness. For school pupils, willingness was a stronger predictor of behaviour than intentions or implicit attitudes. Conclusions: Adding implicit measures to the PWM may contribute to our understanding of the development of alcohol behaviours in young people. Further research could explore how implicit attitudes develop alongside the shift from reactive to planned behaviour.

Statistics and Research Methods modules are often unpopular with psychology students; however, at Oxford Brookes University the seminar component of the second-year research methods module tends to get very positive feedback. Over half of the seminars work towards the submission of a research-based experimental lab report. This article introduces and reflects on some of the recent changes made to improve this coursework by increasing the similarities with staff research; specifically targeting the areas of supervision, ethical review, peer review and dissemination. These developments are aligned with the teaching fellowship project, Vertical Enhancement of Statistics and Psychology Research, and aim to encourage second-year students to treat their group experiments as part of the department’s research activity, rather than simply as pieces of coursework. Enhancing this research-based aspect of the student experience teaching will hopefully, in turn, lead to higher quality third-year dissertations by increasing student enthusiasm for academic research.