# An Adaptive Mobile Intervention to Increase Safe Drinking Strategies Using Deviance Regulation Theory

> **NIH NIH R15** · UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA · 2020 · $410,402

## Abstract

Abstract
College student alcohol use remains a significant public health issue. College students
consume alcohol at higher rates than their non-college peers. Though most college
students “mature out” of heavy alcohol use by graduation, the consequences resulting
from frequent acute intoxication during college can be devastating. Identifying cost
effective ways to reduce problematic alcohol use, that can be widely disseminated,
remains vitally important. A large body of literature has examined associations between
social norms and drinking among college students. Several college drinking
interventions have utilized social norms to reduce alcohol use and alcohol-related
consequences. However, recent research suggests these interventions may not be as
effective as once though. Despite the support for social norms as an etiological basis for
heavy drinking, and its implementation in interventions, the operationalization has
remained relatively narrow. Social norms interventions have generally not taken broader
theoretical perspectives into account. Nor have they been applied much beyond the
exclusive focus on quantity and frequency of consumption. The present study addresses
these issues by examining the effects of an intervention grounded in Deviance
Regulation Theory, meant to increase use of alcohol protective behavioral strategies
when drinking. Deviance Regulation Theory posits that individuals will seek to engage in
behaviors that allow them to standout in positive ways or avoid standing-out in negative
ways. Both of these effects are based on the perception of the behavioral norm.
Participants are randomly assigned to receive messages that presents individuals who
DO use PBS in a positive light, information that presents individuals who DO NOT use
PBS in a negative light, or an active control (BASICS). It is hypothesized that among
individuals who believe PBS use is uncommon among their peers, positive messages
about PBS users will result in increased PBS use, and subsequent decreases in alcohol
use and problems. In contrast among individuals who believe PBS use is common
among their peers, negative messages about PBS users will result in increased PBS
use, and subsequent decreases in alcohol use and alcohol problems. If successful this
trial will pave the way for a novel intervention for college students that can be tailored to
individual beliefs about PBS use norms and that could be combined with existing
interventions for college student drinking.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9880956
- **Project number:** 1R15AA026420-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert Daniel Dvorak
- **Activity code:** R15 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $410,402
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-05 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9880956

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9880956, An Adaptive Mobile Intervention to Increase Safe Drinking Strategies Using Deviance Regulation Theory (1R15AA026420-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9880956. Licensed CC0.

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