The DOI matches its Crossref record; 41 of the 41 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Friends Talk to Friends About Drinking: Exploring the Role of Peer Communication in the Theory of Normative Social Behavior
Abstract
Peer communication represents 1 mechanism through which norms are disseminated in social groups. The theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) posits that group identity, outcome expectations, and injunctive norms moderate the relation between descriptive norms and behaviors. This article extends the purview of the TNSB by conceptualizing peer communication as another moderator in the relationship between descriptive norms and behaviors. A survey was conducted among college students (N = 675) to measure their normative perceptions, peer communication, alcohol consumption, alcohol-related consequences, and intention to drink alcohol. As hypothesized, descriptive norms, peer communication, and the interaction between these two variables were significantly associated with consumption, even after controlling for known predictors of both consumption and various mechanisms of normative influences. Controlling for prior consumption, peer communication was also a significant predictor of intention to consume alcohol in the future. This model explained approximately 63% of the variance in intention. This study found a significant relationship between peer communication and alcohol drinking behaviors and intentions after controlling for perceived norms.
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“More generally, they first support the norm-behavior-link that has been proposed by general social norm theories, such as the TNSB (Real & Rimal, 2007; Rimal & Real, 2005).”
From The Impact of Social Norms on Adolescents’ Self-Presentation Practices on Social Media (2024) · cites this paper as Real & Rimal, 2007
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Metadata
- Authors
- Real, K., & Rimal, R. N.
- Affiliations
- University of Kentucky (US)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Real, Kevin
- Venue
- Health Communication
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2007-08-08
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 169-180
- ISSN
- 1041-0236 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-7027
- OpenAlex
- W2000164008
- Cited by
- 191
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 4.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Health Communication (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Social Sciences › Communication › Media Influence and Health
- Keywords
- peer-to-peer communication, theory of normative social behavior, descriptive norms, injunctive norms, outcome expectations, group identity, alcohol consumption, alcohol-related consequences, drinking intentions, university students, peer influence
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Alcohol Drinking, Communication, Data Collection, Female, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Models, Theoretical, Peer Group, Social Behavior, Texas, Friends
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