Students' Estimates of the Prevalence of Drug Use: Evidence for a False Consensus Effect

False consensus, or the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share one's own attitudes and behaviors, was investigated in a study of 348 university students classified as non-drug users, cannabis-only users, or amphetamine+cannabis users. Participants estimated the prevalence of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology of addictive behaviors 2000-09, Vol.14 (3), p.295-298
Main Author: Wolfson, Sandy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictive behaviors
Adolescent
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Amphetamine
Amphetamines
Biological and medical sciences
Cannabis
Cross-Sectional Studies
Drug abuse
Drug addiction
Drug Usage
Drug Usage Attitudes
False consensus
Female
Human
Humans
Male
Marijuana Abuse - epidemiology
Marijuana Abuse - psychology
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Motivation
Peer Group
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Set (Psychology)
Social Environment
Social Perception
Students - psychology
Students - statistics & numerical data
Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology
Substance-Related Disorders - psychology
Young adults
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Summary:False consensus, or the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share one's own attitudes and behaviors, was investigated in a study of 348 university students classified as non-drug users, cannabis-only users, or amphetamine+cannabis users. Participants estimated the prevalence of cannabis and amphetamine use among students. Cannabis and amphetamine users made significantly higher estimates of cannabis use among students than did nonusers, whereas amphetamine users gave significantly higher estimates of amphetamine use than nonusers and cannabis-only users. Correlations between estimates of use among friends and other students were significantly positive for both drugs. The results suggest that students are motivated to overestimate the commonality of their own position on drug use and that their estimates may also be influenced by selective exposure.
ISSN:0893-164X
1939-1501
DOI:10.1037/0893-164X.14.3.295