A Kantian reading of Buddhist community

Keiji Nishitani, in his lectures On Buddhism (1982), argues that Buddhism is lacking a theory of Buddhist community. He believes that a historical consciousness and a social ethics are required for a theory of Buddhist community. German philosopher Immanuel Kant argues that a theory of religious community should contain an idea of an invisible church and an expression of a visible church. This is his theory of the church. This thesis will conduct a comparative analysis to see if Kant's notions of the invisible and visible church can express the essential components to a theory of Buddhist community. This paper finds that universal communicability is a requirement for a theory of Buddhist community to express itself as a visible church. Only when a religious community has universal communicably can it appeal to the unlearned and to those who can convince themselves of the moral truth of religion. Only in this sense, can a religious community be called a universal religion and become publicly accessible for it appeals to every kind of person. Overall, this thesis is fruitful in gaining a cross-cultural philosophical dialogue into the basis of a theory of religious community. This dialogue shows much promise of expressing the role of religious scripture and tradition, for the individual’s religious experience confirms what reason already knows to be the moral law of the heart

An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Sorority Alcohol Consumption

Greek-affiliated college students have been found to drink more heavily and frequently than other students. With female student drinking on the rise over the past decade, sorority women may be at particular risk for heavy consumption patterns. The current study is the first to apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to examine drinking patterns among a sorority-only sample. Two-hundred and forty-seven sorority members completed questionnaires measuring TPB variables of attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions, with drinking behaviors measured one month later. Latent structural equation modeling examined the pathways of the TPB model. Intentions to drink mediated the relationship between attitudes and norms on drinking behavior. Subjective norms predicted intentions to drink more than attitudes or perceived behavioral control. Perceived behavioral control did not predict intentions but did predict drinking behaviors. Interpretation and suggestions from these findings are discussed

The prognostic power of normative influences among NCAA student-athletes

This study evaluated the predictive power of perceived descriptive and injunctive norms on intercollegiate student-athlete alcohol consumption and attitudes toward drinking-related behaviors. The sample consisted of 594 NCAA student-athletes from two geographically opposite sites. Norms variables utilized a school and gender-specific athletic peer reference group. Results indicate that respondents reported greater perceived injunctive norms than actual attitudes, and greater perceived descriptive norms than actual alcohol use. Further, after accounting for demographics and alcohol motivations, perceived injunctive norms were the strongest predictors of athletes\u27 attitudes with the final model explaining 54% of the variance. Similarly, perceived descriptive norms were among the strongest predictors of alcohol use with the final model explaining 69% of the variance. Future research may want to use both of these perceived norms constructs to create a more salient and targeted social norms intervention aimed at reducing risky behavior and permissive alcohol-related attitudes among this population. Utilizing this strong peer reference group as well as targeting both injunctive and descriptive norms may increase the power and saturation of prevention and intervention strategies

Assessment of perceived and actual alcohol norms in varying contexts: Exploring Social Impact Theory among college students

The social norms approach to college drinking suggests that students misperceive the drinking behavior and attitudes of their peers. While much is known about these misperceptions, research is sparse regarding the context in which perceived and actual norms are assessed. As social influence is pronounced in college, the principles of Social Impact Theory may contribute to differences between assessments performed individually and those completed when surrounded by members of one’s salient reference group. The current study examines 284 members of campus organizations in two contexts (online and group) to determine if individuals endorse different responses to questions of perceived and actual drinking norms across contexts. All participants endorsed higher responses on questions of actual and perceived group behavior and of perceived group attitudes towards drinking during the group assessment. Men and students in Greek organizations may be more influenced by the proximity of their peers when presented with questions regarding perceived alcohol use. These results suggest that context of assessment needs to be considered when collecting self-report data from college students

Comparing injunctive marijuana use norms of salient reference groups among college student marijuana users and nonusers

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug among college students and has the potential for various negative outcomes. Perceptions of what constitutes typical approval/acceptability of a reference group (i.e. injunctive social norms) have been shown to have strong utility as predictors of health-risk behaviors in the college context, yet this construct remains significantly understudied for marijuana use despite its potential for use in social norms-based interventions. The current research evaluated individuals’ marijuana approval level and their perceptions of others’ marijuana approval level (i.e. injunctive norms) for various reference groups (typical student on campus, one’s close friends, one’s parents) as a function of individual user status (abstainers, experimenters, occasional users, regular users). A diverse sample of 3553 college students from two universities completed an online survey. Among all user status groups, individual approval yielded mean scores paralleling that of perceived close friends’ approval and all groups were relatively uniform in their perception of typical students’ approval. Higher levels of marijuana use tended to produce higher endorsements of individual approval, perceived close friends’ approval, and perceived parental approval. Among occasional and regular users, there were no differences between one’s own approval level for use and the perceptions of close friends’ approval, nor did they think the typical student was more approving than themselves. Abstainers and experimenters, however, perceived typical students and close friends to have more permissive attitudes than themselves. Implications and future directions for research regarding the role of injunctive marijuana use norms in the development of social norms intervention are discussed

The Use of Protective Behavioral Strategies is Related to Reduced Risk in Heavy Drinking College Students with Poorer Mental and Physical Health

The present study examined the moderating role of health status (physical, mental, and social health) and the relationships between protective behavioral strategies utilized to reduce high-risk drinking (e.g., avoiding drinking games, setting consumption limits, or having a designated driver) and alcohol use and negative consequences in a sample of heavy drinking college students (N = 1,820). In this high risk sample, multiple regression analyses showed that stronger social health was related to increased drinking, while poorer physical, mental, and social health were related to increased alcohol negative consequences. Further, moderation effects revealed that increasing the use of protective behaviors was associated with significantly less drinking in those with stronger social health, as well as significantly lower numbers of negative consequences among participants with poorer physical and mental health. Implications for college counselors and medical personnel are discussed

Injunctive Peer Misperceptions and the Mediation of Self-Approval on Risk for Driving After Drinking Among College Students

Of the alcohol-related risks faced by college students, it is arguable that none presents a greater public health hazard than driving after drinking (DAD). The present study examined the extent to which students’ injunctive misperceptions toward DAD predicted the likelihood to engage in DAD and how this relation was mediated by self-approval of DAD. Participants were 2,848 college students (59.1% female, 64.6% Caucasian) from two U.S. West Coast universities who completed confidential web-based surveys assessing DAD beliefs and behaviors. Results revealed that respondents tended to overestimate their peers’ approval toward DAD. Moreover, the subgroups likely to engage in DAD—men, 21+ years of age, Greek affiliated students, Caucasians, students with a family history of alcohol abuse—were also more likely to misperceive (i.e., overestimate) their peers’ level of approval toward DAD. Using binary logistic regression analyses, self-approval of DAD emerged as an important statistical mediator in the relation between misperception of typical student approval toward DAD and engagement in DAD. Results point to the considerable role injunctive peer misperceptions may play in the pathways leading to drinking-driving risk. These findings provide preliminary support for DAD-specific social normative interventions, either complementing or supplementing existing alcohol interventions. By targeting high-risk student subgroups and communicating accurate drinking-driving norms, these proposed interventions have the potential to reduce self-approval and incidence of DAD

Family History of Alcohol Abuse Moderates Effectiveness of a Group Motivational Enhancement Intervention in College Women

This study examined whether a self-reported family history of alcohol abuse (FH+) moderated the effects of a female-specific group motivational enhancement intervention with first-year college women. First-year college women (N= 287) completed an initial questionnaire and attended an intervention (n=161) or control (n=126) group session, of which 118 reported FH+. Repeated measures ANCOVA models were estimated to investigate whether the effectiveness of the intervention varied as a function of one’s reported family history of alcohol abuse. Results revealed that family history of alcohol abuse moderated intervention efficacy. Although the intervention was effective in producing less risky drinking relative to controls, among those participants who received the intervention, FH+ women drank less across five weeks of follow-up than FH− women. The current findings provide preliminary support for the differential effectiveness of motivational enhancement interventions with FH+ women

Family History of Alcohol Abuse Associated With Problematic Drinking Among College Students

Studies examining family history of alcohol abuse among college students are not only conflicting, but have suffered various limitations. The current report investigates family history of alcohol abuse (FH+) and its relationship with alcohol expectancies, consumption, and consequences. In the current study, 3753 student participants (35% FH+), completed online assessments. Compared to FH−same-sex peers, FH+ males and FH+ females endorsed greater overall positive expectancies, consumed more drinks per week, and experienced more alcohol-related negative consequences. Further, FH+ females evaluated the negative effects of alcohol to be substantially worse than FH− females. An ANCOVA, controlling for age, GPA, race, and alcohol expectancies, resulted in family history main effects on both drinking and consequences. An interaction also emerged between gender and family history, such that FH+ males were especially vulnerable to high levels of alcohol consumption. Results reveal the scope of FH+ individuals in the college environment and the increased risk for these students, particularly male FH+ students, suggesting a need for researchers and college health personnel to focus attention and resources on this issue

Protective behavioral strategies mediate the effect of drinking motives on alcohol use among heavy drinking college students: Gender and race differences

Objective This study examined the extent to which protective behavioral strategies (PBS) mediated the influence of drinking motives on alcohol consumption, and if these hypothesized relationships were corroborated across subsamples of gender and race. Method Online surveys were completed by 1592 heavy drinking college undergraduates from two universities (49.9% male and 50.1% female; 76.9% Caucasian and 23.1% Asian). Independent samples t-tests compared males and females as well as Caucasians and Asians on measures of drinking motives, PBS use, and alcohol consumption, and structural equation models examined the mediating role of PBS. Results Consistent with predictions, t-tests revealed that males reported greater levels of consumption than females, but females reported greater use of PBS than males. Caucasians reported greater consumption levels, endorsed higher enhancement motives, and higher PBS related to serious harm reduction, but Asians endorsed higher coping and conformity motives, and PBS focused on stopping/limiting drinking. In multiple-sample SEM analyses, PBS were shown to largely mediate the relationship between motives and consumption in all demographic subsamples. Conclusions Findings indicate that PBS use leads to reductions in drinking despite pre-established drinking motives, hence pointing to the potential value of standalone PBS skills training interventions in lowering alcohol use among diverse groups of heavy drinking college students