Perceived peer norms and alcohol use among college students in China

Abstract Introduction Currently, there has been little research on peer drinking norms with non-English speaking college populations. Using a Chinese college student sample, the present study investigated perceived peer norms and their associations with individual alcohol-related behaviors. Methods Past six-month drinkers (n = 436, 50% men, mean age = 20.49) recruited from one college in China took an anonymous paper-and-pencil survey. To examine the differences in alcohol-related behaviors among groups, one-way repeated measures analysis of variance and chi-square tests were conducted. To investigate the associations between perceived peer norms and individual alcohol-related behaviors, sequential linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results There were overall mean differences in alcohol use among participants, perceived best friends, and perceived average student for both men ( F (1.98, 421.06) = 13.12, p F (1.89, 399.70) = 5.79, p χ 2 (1, N  = 415) = 61.85, p χ 2 (1, N  = 414) = 68.17, p Conclusions Replication research is needed to inform social norms interventions for Chinese college students.