Personalized normative feedback for heavy drinking: An application of deviance regulation theory

Deviance Regulation Theory (DRT) proposes that individuals regulate their behavior to be in line with the behaviors of others. Specifically, individuals desire to stand out in positive way and not stand out in a negative way. DRT has been successfully applied to encourage other health behaviors and offers a unique method to utilize both injunctive norms in combination with descriptive norms in brief alcohol interventions. This randomized controlled trial evaluated a computer-delivered, norms-based personalized feedback intervention which systematically varied the focus on whether specific drinking behaviors were described as common or uncommon (a descriptive norm), whether the drinking behaviors were healthy versus unhealthy, and whether the drinking behaviors were positively or negatively framed (an injunctive norm). Nine-hundred and fifty-nine college drinkers completed baseline, three-month, and six-month follow-up assessments. Results indicated messages focusing on unhealthy drinking behaviors, particularly when described as uncommon, were most effective in reducing drinking and alcohol-related problems over time. This research utilizes deviance regulation theory as a way of improving personalized normative feedback by elucidating how to construct messages for brief interventions based on descriptive characteristics associated with specific target drinking behaviors in combination with perceptions of prevalence and acceptability of such drinking behaviors (an injunctive norm). •This RCT applied deviance regulation theory to a personalized feedback intervention.•Common versus uncommon and healthy versus unhealthy conditions were examined.•Messages also framed specific drinking behaviors positively or negatively.•Uncommon, unhealthy messages were effective in reducing drinking outcomes.•Findings suggest how to incorporate both injunctive and descriptive norms in PFIs.