Do We Fit The Bill? A Quantitative Study of Substance Use at a Small Liberal Arts College

Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Pittman, Chavella

Keywords

Substance Use, Social Norms, Sense of Belonging

Area of Concentration

Sociology

Abstract

Social normative theorists often express the importance of understanding interpersonal influence, in order to understand personal change and individual behaviors. Research has often focused on the power of descriptive and injunctive norms, amongst different referent groups, and how these can predict how and why people behave in specific ways. The current thesis studies the issues of perceived substance use and it�s affect on individual student behavior at a small, liberal, arts college, as well as examining the relationship between sense of belonging and substance use. Research was conducted on-campus through an online self-reporting survey in the January interim of 2010. Major findings from the research show how the school under study is indeed similar to the literature on substance use at colleges when it comes to perceived substance use and individual behaviors. However, the current school differed from previous findings on sense of belonging, as it was a not a protective factor for substance use.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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