Browsing by Author "Gonzales, Rubi G."
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Item Blood is thicker than booze: Examining the role of familism and gender in alcohol use and related consequences among Hispanic college students(Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 2016) DiBello, Angelo M.; Gonzales, Rubi G.; Young, Chelsie M.; Rodriguez, Lindsey M.; Neighbors, ClaytonThe present study evaluated cultural, ethnic, and gender differences in drinking and alcohol-related problems among Hispanic students. Familism protects against negative outcomes in Hispanic populations, thus we expected familism to buffer against alcohol problems. Participants (N =623; 53% female) completed a battery of measures. Results suggested that familism was protective against drinking. Furthermore, alcohol use mediated the association between familism and alcohol-related problems. In sum, understanding that culture plays an important role in people’s behaviors and identifying protective factors is critical to inform culturally sensitive prevention and intervention efforts.Item Efficacy of personalized normative feedback as a brief intervention for college student gambling: A randomized controlled trial(Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2015-06) Neighbors, Clayton; Rodriguez, Lindsey M.; Rinker, Dipali; Agana, Maigen; Gonzales, Rubi G.; Tackett, Jennifer L.; Foster, Dawn W.Objective: Social influences on gambling among adolescents and adults have been well documented and may be particularly evident among college students, who have higher rates of problem and pathological gambling relative to the general population. Personalized normative feedback (PNF) is a brief intervention designed to correct misperceptions regarding the prevalence of problematic behavior by showing individuals engaging in such behaviors that their own behavior is atypical with respect to actual norms. The current randomized controlled trial evaluated a computer-delivered PNF intervention for problem gambling college students. Method: Following a baseline assessment, 252 college student gamblers scoring 2+ on the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) were randomly assigned to receive PNF or attention-control feedback. Follow-up assessments were completed 3 and 6 months postintervention. Results: Results indicated significant intervention effects in reducing perceived norms for quantities lost and won, and in reducing actual quantity lost and gambling problems at the 3-month follow-up. All intervention effects except reduced gambling problems remained at the 6-month follow-up. Mediation results indicated that changes in perceived norms at 3 months mediated the intervention effects. Further, the intervention effects were moderated by self-identification with other student gamblers, suggesting that PNF worked better at reducing gambling for those who more strongly identified with other student gamblers. Conclusions: Results support the use of PNF as a stand-alone brief intervention for at-risk gambling students. Extending this approach more broadly may provide an accessible, empirically supported gambling prevention option for universities and related institutions.Item Remote vs. in-lab computer-delivered personalized normative feedback interventions for college student drinking(Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2015-06) Rodriguez, Lindsey M.; Neighbors, Clayton; Rinker, Dipali; Lewis, Melissa A.; Lazorwitz, Brenda; Gonzales, Rubi G.; Larimer, Mary E.Objective: Computer-based interventions aimed at reducing college student drinking have shown positive effects. This paper compares differences in effects of computer-based personalized normative feedback (PNF) interventions based on delivery modality (in-person vs. remotely) across six previously evaluated studies with similar content. Method: Three studies included evaluations of a computer-based PNF intervention where baseline and intervention procedures took place inside a laboratory setting; three separate studies included evaluations of the same intervention where participants completed the procedures remotely over the web. Thus, we tested for differences in intervention efficacy by delivery modality. Outcomes included drinks per week, drinking-related consequences, and the putative intervention mechanism, perceived drinking norms. Results: Evidence from hierarchical linear models indicated that computer-based interventions are less effective at reducing drinking and related consequences when delivered remotely than when delivered in-person. Conclusion: The advantages of interventions delivered remotely are not without cost. Suggestions for why remote computer-based interventions may be less effective are discussed.Item Self-identification as a moderator of the relationship between gambling-related perceived norms and gambling behavior(Journal of Gambling Studies, 2014-03) Foster, Dawn W.; Neighbors, Clayton; Rodriguez, Lindsey M.; Lazorwitz, Brenda; Gonzales, Rubi G.This research was designed to evaluate social influences and perceived social norms on gambling behavior among undergraduate students. Furthermore, this research was designed to replicate and extend previous research demonstrating that young adults overestimate the prevalence of gambling among peers, and that the magnitude of overestimation is positively associated with own use (Larimer and Neighbors, Psychol Addict Behav 17:235–243, 2003). We expected that; (1) gambling college students would identify more strongly with other gambling students compared to other students in general; (2) identification with other gambling students would predict gambling behaviors over and above perceived prevalence of gambling; and (3) identification with other gambling students would moderate the association between perceived social norms and gambling behavior. Participants included 1,486 undergraduate students who completed measures assessing gambling quantity and frequency, gambling-related perceived descriptive norms, and identification with groups. Results revealed that perceived norms for gambling were associated with gambling and revealed that students identified more strongly with other students than either gamblers or student gamblers. However, gambling behavior was more strongly associated with identification with gambling students than students in general. There was consistent support for the perspective that social identity moderates the association between perceived norms for gambling and gambling behavior. This research builds on previous examinations of social influences related to gambling and suggests that it may be important to consider the overall prevalence of a given behavior before considering norms-based intervention approaches. Interventions utilizing social norms for gambling may be advised to consider references other than just the typical student.