THE “PARTY SCHOOL” FACTOR: HOW MESSAGES ABOUT ALCOHOL USE AT UNIVERSITIES INFLUENCE PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS Thesis Submitted to The College of Arts and Sciences of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Master of Arts in Communication By Jessica Lynn Parker Dayton, OH May 2009 THE “PARTY SCHOOL” FACTOR: HOW MESSAGES ABOUT ALCOHOL USE AT UNIVERSITIES INFLUENCE PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS APPROVED BY: _____________________________________ Teresa L. Thompson, Ph.D. Faculty Advisor _____________________________________ James D. Robinson, Ph.D. Faculty Reader _____________________________________ Thomas O. Farnsworth, S.M., Psy.D., R.A.S. Faculty Reader ii ABSTRACT THE “PARTY SCHOOL” FACTOR: HOW MESSAGES ABOUT ALCOHOL USE AT UNIVERSITIES INFLUENCE PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS Name: Parker, Jessica Lynn University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. Teresa L. Thompson This three-phase study was designed to determine what messages prospective students receive about alcohol use and partying at a university, how these messages affect who is most attracted to the university, and whether different types of university messages attract students with different characteristics. Interviews with first-year students at the University of Dayton (UD) revealed that most students heard messages about alcohol use and partying before deciding to attend. A survey of UD undergraduate students, which asked for retrospective reflection on their experiences as prospective students, found a significant correlation between having a positive view of UD after hearing these messages and being party- and alcohol-oriented, as measured by factors such as viewing partying as important, having the intention to drink alcohol in college, and having previous experiences of drinking to intoxication. A survey of high school students showed that a hypothetical university with many weekend activities and strong enforcement of drinking age iii laws is most attractive to prospective students. A “party school” and a school with many activities but little law enforcement both attracted primarily party- and alcohol-oriented high school students, whereas a school with many activities and strong enforcement was attractive to all types of students. Post-secondary schools with “party school” reputations are encouraged to focus on weekend activity promotion and enforcement of alcohol laws to avoid continually attracting a concentration of heavy drinkers. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe immeasurable thanks to Dr. Teri Thompson, my advisor, who provided both academic and moral support through all three phases of my research. It was a rare and wonderful blessing to have an advisor willing to fully support all my ideas and to answer my questions at any time of day or night. Additional thanks are necessary for the other members of my thesis committee, Dr. Robinson and Brother Tom, who together ensured that everything I did was both theoretically sound and practically applicable. Scott Markland also contributed a great deal to the success of my research with his knowledge, advice, and support. Finally, I sincerely appreciate the support of my fiancé and my parents, who patiently listened to me talk about my project for hours on end and who gave me some great ideas. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................................................. viii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER 1 ......................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................................................................. 3 College Student Alcohol Consumption .............................................................. 3 Symbolic Interactionism .................................................................................... 5 College Choice ................................................................................................ 11 CHAPTER 2 ....................................................................................................... 17 STUDY 1 ............................................................................................................ 17 Methods .......................................................................................................... 17 Results ............................................................................................................ 20 Discussion ....................................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER 3 ....................................................................................................... 34 STUDY 2 ............................................................................................................ 34 Methods .......................................................................................................... 34 Results ............................................................................................................ 38 vi Discussion ....................................................................................................... 51 CHAPTER 4 ....................................................................................................... 57 STUDY 3 ............................................................................................................ 57 Methods .......................................................................................................... 57 Results ............................................................................................................ 61 Discussion ....................................................................................................... 78 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 82 APPENDIX A: Study 1 Interview Guide .............................................................. 90 APPENDIX B: Study 2 Survey ............................................................................ 96 APPENDIX C: Study 3 Survey .......................................................................... 102 vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. University Description and Pre-Existing Attitudes’ Effect on University Attraction………………………………………………………………………………..67 viii LIST OF TABLES 1. Frequency of Messages Received by Prospective UD Students……………...39 2. A 5 x 3 Cross-Tabulation of Year in School and Having Received the Message “The Police Do Not Prevent Underage Drinking at UD”…………………………...41 3. Perception of UD after Hearing Each Message Correlated with Pre-Existing Attitudes, Pre-Existing Behaviors and Average Number of Drinks……………….42 4. Pre-Existing Attitudes Correlated with Perception of UD after Hearing Each Message, Controlling for Pre-Existing Behaviors…………………………………..44 5. PEAI & PEBI as Predictors of Perception of UD after Receiving Each Message Compared to PEAI Alone as a Predictor……………………………………………46 6. Independent Samples t-test of Low Drinkers vs. High Drinkers on Perceptions of UD after Receiving Each Message……………………………………………….48 7. Independent Samples t-test of University Housing Resident vs. Commuter on Perceptions of UD after Receiving Each Message………………………………...50 8. Athletic Involvement Correlated with Alcohol Attitudes…………………………63 9. Mean Attraction to Each Hypothetical University………………………………..64 10. One-Way ANOVA of University Description on Measures of Attraction…….65 11. One-Way ANOVA of Differences in University Attraction by PEAI Score (Low, Medium, or High Score) for Each University Description………………………….69 12. Correlations of Attraction to Party School with Attitudes Toward Alcohol Use and Partying……………………………………………………………………………72 13. Correlations of Attraction to Many Activities/Little Enforcement School with Attitudes Toward Alcohol Use and Partying...………………………………………73 14. Correlations of Attraction to Many Activities/Strong Enforcement School with Attitudes Toward Alcohol Use and Partying…………………………...……………74 15. Correlations of Attraction to Dry Campus with Attitudes Toward Alcohol Use and Partying……………………………………………………………………………75 ix 16. Mean Attraction Scores Controlling for Social Influence……………………...77 x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION “I wouldn’t lie to them and say it’s not a party school, because it is, and I think that’s quite evident when you come here and . I think it’s evident before you come here.” -- University of Dayton student on how she would describe UD to a prospective student When college-bound high school seniors are making the decision about which college to attend, they may consider a variety of factors: tuition, campus atmosphere, faculty/student ratio, distance from home, and so on. A student may consider multiple factors when narrowing the pool of schools or making his or her final decision. One potential factor that has rarely been examined, however, is a school’s reputation — not for academic quality, but for having good parties and an abundance of free alcohol. Does a “party school” image attract certain students, and if so, does it attract the type of students a university wants? This three-part study was designed to help universities determine whether a school’s