title: Informing alcohol interventions for student service members/veterans: Normative perceptions and coping strategies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The current study aimed to inform future interventions for heavy alcohol use and problems among college students by examining the utility of normative perceptions and coping strategies in predicting alcohol use among student service members/Veterans (SSM/Vs).
  
  
  METHODS
  SSM/Vs and civilian students (N=319) at a large university in the Southern Plains completed self-report measures of demographics, alcohol use and related behaviors, and coping strategies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both SSM/Vs and civilian students significantly overestimated the typical weekly drinking quantities and frequencies of same-sex students on campus. Among SSM/Vs, normative perceptions of typical student (not military-specific) drinking and substance-related coping strategies significantly predicted drinks consumed per week, while substance-related coping predicted alcohol-related consequences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the theoretical importance of similarity to normative referents, military-specific norms did not significantly improve the prediction of SSM/Vs' personal drinking behavior. Moreover, neither typical student nor military-specific norms predicted alcohol-related consequences among SSM/Vs after accounting for substance-related coping strategies. Future research may examine the efficacy of descriptive normative feedback and the importance of military-specific norms in alcohol interventions for SSM/Vs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Box G-S121-4, Providence, RI 02912, USA; Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 116 North Murray, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA. Electronic address: mary_miller@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Mary Beth
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 116 North Murray, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA. Electronic address: emma.brett@okstate.edu.
authors.forename: Emma I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Brett
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 116 North Murray, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA. Electronic address: leavens@ostatemail.okstate.edu.
authors.forename: Eleanor L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Leavens
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 116 North Murray, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. Electronic address: ellen.meier@okstate.edu.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meier
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University, Box G-S121-4, Providence, RI 02912, USA; Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences Service, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 830 Chalkstone Avenue, Providence, RI 02908, USA. Electronic address: brian_borsari@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Borsari
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 116 North Murray, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA. Electronic address: thad.leffingwell@okstate.edu.
authors.forename: Thad R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Leffingwell
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000067292:Alcohol Drinking in College / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol; College students; Descriptive norms; Military