College students' intentions to drink alcohol and engage in incidental alcohol-related legal risk behavior following a hypothetical alcohol-related legal encounter

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study:

The purpose of this web-based study was to examine college students' intentions to drink alcohol and engage in incidental legal risk behaviors following a hypothetically experienced alcohol-related legal encounter. The experimental design was pre- post-test in nature. Participants were randomized into one of three groups, "arrest," "no arrest," or control. Participants were asked to respond to questions about their alcohol use and alcohol-related incidental legal risk behaviors before and after being presented with a hypothetical scenario in which they were "stopped by police for drinking and driving."

Findings and Conclusions:

Results indicated that all groups demonstrated a decrease from reported pre-scenario intentions to post- scenario hypothetical intentions to drink alcohol. Additionally, the "arrest" and "no arrest" groups showed a significant decrease and increase from pre-scenario intentions to post- scenario hypothetical intentions to engage in risky and protective drinking behavior, respectively. These findings suggest that when an individual imagines being arrested for drinking and driving, or being "let off the hook," the individual believes that he/she would drink less in the month following such an experience. Further, experiencing any type of legal encounter related to alcohol use may result in positive changes in incidental risky drinking behaviors. Finally, the results revealed positive and significant associations for alcohol consumption and incidental legal risk behaviors between pre-scenario intentions and actual behavior one month later.