Perceived Norms and Alcohol-Related Consequences among College Students: The Moderated Mediation Roles of Protective Behavioral Strategies and Alcohol Consumption

<i>Background</i>: Alcohol-related Protective Behavioral Strategies (PBS), including manner of drinking, limiting or stopping drinking, and serious harm reduction strategies significantly moderate the relationship between several factors (e.g., drinking motives, alcohol expectancies) associated with alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. However, it is currently unknown whether PBS can also moderate the relationship between perceived norms (i.e., descriptive and injunctive), alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related consequences. Examining the moderating role of PBS in alcohol consumption is critical for integrating PBS into prevention efforts and improving the effectiveness of alcohol-related harm reduction approaches. <i>Methods</i>: A confidential online survey on alcohol use was given to 524 college students at a large public university (<i>M</i>_age = 20.93; <i>SD</i> = 3.51; females = 75.38%). <i>Results</i>: A moderated mediation analysis indicates that PBS aimed at avoiding excessive drinking (i.e., manner of drinking) significantly moderated the relationship between descriptive norms and alcohol use. It was also determined that the indirect effect of descriptive norms on alcohol consequences through alcohol consumption was weaker when manner of drinking use was high. Thus, greater use of manner of drinking strategies reduces the strength of the association between descriptive norms, alcohol consumption, and alcohol consequences. However, injunctive norms were not directly associated with alcohol consumption and alcohol consequences. <i>Conclusions</i>: Our findings show that promoting the use of manner of drinking strategies could be effective at reducing alcohol use and related problems among college students who perceive heavy drinking as normative.