Do Lesbians' Overestimate Alcohol Use Norms? Exploring the Potential Utility of Personalized Normative Feedback Interventions to Reduce High-Risk Drinking in Lesbian Communities

Introduction. Despite decades of research showing that lesbians consume significantly more alcohol and experience more alcohol-related problems than do their heterosexual peers, very few interventions have been developed to reduce the alcohol consumption of lesbians in community settings. This study examines the potential utility of Social Norms-based approaches demonstrated to be effective in reducing alcohol use in numerous other high-risk drinking groups. We investigate: 1) whether lesbians overestimate peers’ alcohol use frequency and quantity; 2) whether more frequent lesbian bar attendance is related to elevated perceptions of lesbian drinking; and, 3) the degree to which lesbians would be interested in receiving personalized normative feedback. 

Methods. A convenience sample of 278 lesbians residing in Southern California completed an online survey assessing their frequency of visiting lesbian bars, perceptions of “typical lesbian” alcohol use behaviors, confidence in their perceptions, interest in receiving feedback on their accuracy, and their own drinking behaviors. Perceived lesbian alcohol use norms were compared to actual alcohol use behaviors within this convenience sample as well as California Health Interview Survey estimates of lesbian alcohol use.

Results. Participants overestimated the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking and the quantity of alcohol consumed by their lesbian peers. More frequent lesbian bar attendance was associated with elevated perceptions of how much other lesbians drink and greater confidence in these perceptions. Greater than 90% of participants expressed moderate to high interest in receiving feedback on the accuracy of their normative perceptions and how their own drinking compares to that of other lesbians (i.e. PNF).

Conclusions. Although more research is needed, findings suggest that PNF interventions focused on correcting perceptions of quantity of alcohol consumed by lesbian peers may be successful in mitigating alcohol-related risks among both young adult and adult lesbians, especially those frequenting lesbian community bars. Further, given the dearth of successful interventions developed to prevent and reduce substance misuse among other sexual minority groups to date, these findings should encourage interventionists to consider Social Norms strategies for correcting exaggerated perceptions of substance use norms that may result from both sexual minority stress and the structural characteristics of sexual minority communities.