When Tom Butrym, a freshman in the College of Business Administration , was asked how many Marquette students drink, his response was immediate.
"Everyone," he said. "I mean almost everyone drinks. There are a few select people that do not, but the overwhelming majority do."
Butrym's perception, however, may be an overestimate.
According to a study of more than 76,000 college students at 130 colleges and universities , the majority of college students misperceive their peers' drinking habits.
The study, "Misperceiving the College Drinking Norm and Related Problems: A Nationwide Study of Exposure to Prevention Information, Perceived Norms and Student Alcohol Misuse," was published in the September 2005 issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol.
The study said 70 percent of students overestimate the drinking norms of their peers regardless of the actual drinking culture at the school.
For example, at schools where the norm average when socializing or partying is four drinks per students, 37 percent of students overestimated by one or two drinks the amount of alcohol consumed by their peers. Thirty-four percent overestimated by three or more drinks.
At the university with the highest alcohol consumption norm, which was not named in the study, 61 percent of the students overestimated their peers' drinking habits.
"Heavy drinking is talked about in a praiseworthy way," said Stephen Franzoi, a professor of psychology . "All of this talk causes the misconception that the amount is higher than what it really is. The people who do drink are much more visible to other students and talk about it out in the open."
Because of the high visibility of alcohol in university social scenes, drinking can be viewed as an expected activity, according to Franzoi.
According to the study, the way a student perceives their campus drinking norm is the strongest predictor of the amount of alcohol that person consumes .
The study also predicted when a student overestimates his or her peers' drinking habits by one drink, he or she will increase his or her consumption by half a drink .
"The ones who drink are in the majority, and when coming into college, there is this social norm to do it," Franzoi said. "Drinking is expected, and those who do drink do not have to hide. So what students see are a lot of students drinking and no condemnation of it."
According to the study, universities and colleges that aim to show new students the real drinking culture of a campus through prevention programs can influence students' perceptions of peer drinking .
"There has been some research that if you show students what the actual behavior of drinking at the school is, then it will lower the pressure on the students and lowers the behavior," Franzoi said.
Franzoi said he doubted Marquette used any such methodology for changing students' perceptions of peer drinking.
"It's rather complicated to implement. It has to be across all of campus and widely available," said Joyce Wolburg, associate dean of graduate studies and research in the College of Communication . "The whole idea has to be supported, has to have activities and events that project the real norm. Not every school believes it can work, it is not unanimously supported."
This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 6, 2005.