USF St. Petersburg campus Faculty Publications
Spring Break versus spring broken: Predicting utility of spring break alcohol intentions and willingness at varying levels of extremity.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2014
ISSN
1389-4986
Abstract
Within the domain of risk-related behavior, many times the decision to engage is not a product of premeditation or intention. The prototype willingness model was created to capture and explain the unintended element of risk behavior. The present study aimed to evaluate the importance of willingness versus intention, two important constructs within the prototype willingness model, in relation to spring break drinking behavior when assessed at both high and low extremities. College undergraduates (N=275) completed questionnaires prior to spring break regarding their anticipated spring break activities. Willingness and intention were assessed for different levels of risk. Specifically, participants indicated the extent to which they intended to (a) get drunk and (b) drink enough to black out or pass out; and the extent to which they were willing to (a) get drunk and (b) drink enough to black out or pass out. When classes resumed following spring break, the students indicated the extent to which they actually (a) got drunk and (b) drank enough to black out or pass out. Results demonstrated that when the health-related risk was lower (i.e., getting drunk), intention was a stronger predictor of behavior than was willingness. However, as the level of risk increased (i.e., getting drunk enough to black out or pass out), willingness more strongly predicted behavior. The present study suggests that willingness and intentions differentially predict spring break alcohol-related behavior depending on the extremity of behavior in question. Implications regarding alcohol interventions are discussed.
Language
en_US
Publisher
Springer
Recommended Citation
Litt, D. M., Lewis, M. A., Patrick, M., Rodriguez, L. M., Neighbors, C., & Kaysen, D. (2014). Spring Break versus spring broken: Predicting utility of spring break alcohol intentions and willingness at varying levels of extremity. Prevention Science, 15, 85-93. doi: 10.1007/s11121-012-0355-5 [PMCID: 23404667]
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
Abstract only. Full-text article is available through licensed access provided by the publisher. Members of the USF System may access the full-text of the article through the authenticated link provided.