Using the Integrated Behavioral Model to Predict Binge Drinking among College Students

ABSTRACT This study assessed the Integrated Behavioral Model's (IBM) utility in explaining high-risk drinking among college students. A total of 356 participants completed a four-page questionnaire based on the (IBM) theory and their drinking behavior. The results from a path analysis revealed three significant constructs (p Keywords: High-risk drinking, college students, and behavioral science theory BACKGROUND The drinking behavior college students' exhibit remains an ongoing public health concern across the nation. High-risk drinking, defined by Johnston and colleagues (2001), as consuming five or more drinks in one occasion within the previous two weeks, is quite prevalent. With approximately 43% of the student population engaging in this behavior, for the better part of the last quarter century, the issue appears to be intractable (American College Health Association, 2010; Core Institute at Southern Illinois University, 2011; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2011; Wechsler, Lee, Kuo, Seibring, Nelson, & Lee, 2002). College students who drink at these levels are at an increased risk for experiencing a variety of negative health outcomes. Results from the National College Health Assessment II (American College Health Association, 2010) reveal that college students experience the following when they over indulge: regret something they did (35% of males; 33% of females), forget where they were or what they did (32% of males; 28% of females) and physically injure themselves (18% of males; 15% of females). Other consequences suffered from consuming too much alcohol include death, injury, assault, sexual abuse, unsafe sex, and family problems (American College Health Association, 2010). The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) provides a number of recommendations on how to remedy this issue including the use of evidence based and theory driven interventions (Presley, Meilman, & Leichliter, 2002). The Integrated Behavioral Model (IBM) represents an emerging theory to address health behavior. Much like the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the IBM's predecessors, the IBM posits the intention to perform a behavior as the strongest predictor of behavior; however, this model includes new concepts not utilized within the TPB. The IBM includes three global constructs--attitude, perceived norm, & personal agency--with two specific constructs per category. For example, the two constructs that compose attitude are experiential and instrumental attitude; within perceived norm includes injunctive and descriptive norms, and personal agency consists of perceived control and self-efficacy. The first primary construct within the IBM, attitude, measures the respondent's feelings toward that behavior. It answers the question, "Does he or she have an unfavorable or favorable beliefs towards performing that behavior" (Montano & Kasprzyk, 2008, pg.78). In the IBM, attitudes are based on experiential and instrumental attitudes. Fishbein (2007) states the emotions associated with the behavior help to shape experiential attitude. For instance, if an individual had a favorable response in the past to performing a behavior, then he or she is more likely to perform it in the future. Past behavior is an important component of experiential attitude and influences future behavior. Instrumental attitude, a cognitively based construct, involves the evaluation of the behavior which subsequently influences intentions and future behavior. …