"I got your back": friends' understandings regarding college student spring break behavior.
Behaviors that pose threats to safety and health, including binge drinking and unprotected sex, increase during a week-long break from university. Understandings with peers regarding these behaviors may be important for predicting behavior and related harms. College students (N = 651; 48% men) reported having understandings with their friends regarding alcohol use (59%) and sexual behavior (45%) during Spring Break. These understandings were to engage in behaviors characterized by risk (e.g., get drunk [23.5%], have sex with someone new [5.2%]) and protection (e.g., drink without getting drunk [17.8%], use condoms [15.8%]). After controlling for previous semester behavior and going on a Spring Break trip, Get Drunk Understandings predicted a greater likelihood of binge drinking and alcohol-related consequences; No/Safe Sex Understandings predicted condom use; and Sex Understandings predicted not using condoms. Understandings with friends regarding Spring Break behavior may be important proximal predictors of risk behaviors and represent potential targets for event-specific prevention.
Patrick
Megan E
ME
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA. meganpat@isr.umich.edu
Morgan
Nicole
N
Maggs
Jennifer L
JL
Lefkowitz
Eva S
ES
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D002755:Choice Behavior; D015897:Comorbidity; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006693:Holidays; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult