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Self-Efficacy and Drinking with Friends: An Investigation into the Drinking Behaviors of Japanese College Students

Recent studies have documented an alarming rate of alcohol use in Japan (Eisenback-Stangl et al., 2005; Milne, 2003; Shimizu, 2000). Indeed, permissive social and cultural norms for alcohol use exist within Japanese culture (Shimizu, 1990, 2000). Japanese college-students may be at further risk due to their developmental time period, where increases in alcohol use are typically seen. Furthermore, drinking habits formed during this time period may be difficult to alter later in life (Frone, 2003). Thus, social, developmental, and cultural factors exist to influence drinking among Japanese college students. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the drinking behaviors of Japanese college students and possible proximal predictors of use. Specifically, given the importance of social relationships and interactions to interdependent cultures, such as Japan, the occurrence of negative social interactions may be influential in predicting subsequent drinking, as individuals may increase drinking in order to adhere to the social norms and to make amends. Hypothesis testing confirmed a significant and positive relationship between negative social events and drinking with others. Furthermore, the expected physical, social and emotional outcomes of alcohol consumption (alcohol outcome expectancies) have been shown to predict alcohol use among U.S. samples (e.g., Goldman, 1994), however, daily fluctuations in the desirability of alcohol outcome expectancies has not been previously investigated in a Japanese sample. Given the importance of fluctuations in desirability of alcohol outcome expectancies among U.S. samples (Armeli et al., 2005), this dissertation investigated daily fluctuations in the desirability of expected outcomes and alcohol use. Support for this relationship was found; on days with individuals experienced increases in the desirability of alcohol outcome expectancies, individuals drank more with others. Support for the hypothesis that increases in daily negative social events would predict increases in the desirability of alcohol outcome expectancies was not found. Finally, this dissertation investigated two types of self-efficacy (drinking refusal self-efficacy and social self-efficacy) as stable factors of drinking. Drinking refusal self-efficacy significantly and negatively predicted drinking with others; marginal support for drinking refusal self-efficacy as a moderator of the relationship between negative social events and drinking with others was found. Social self-efficacy significantly and positively predicted drinking with others. No support was found for social self-efficacy as a moderating variable in the relationship between negative social events and drinking with others. In sum, using data that was previously collected via daily process methodology, this dissertation investigated the relationships between daily negative social interactions, daily desirability of alcohol outcome expectancies, and drinking refusal and social self-efficacy as moderators of alcohol consumption. Support was found for five of the seven hypothesized relationships.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:pdx.edu/oai:pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu:open_access_etds-1292
Date01 January 2011
CreatorsWendt, Staci Jean
PublisherPDXScholar
Source SetsPortland State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceDissertations and Theses

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