Using Market Research to Characterize College Students and Substance Use Behaviors Público
Suragh, Tiffany Ashley (2013)
Published
Abstract
Objectives: Marketing campaigns, such as those developed by the tobacco and alcohol industry, are based on market research, which defines segments of a population by assessing psychographic characteristics (i.e., attitudes, interests). This study uses a similar approach to define market segments of male and female college students and examine differences in their substance use behaviors (tobacco use, alcohol use, and marijuana use). Methods: We administered an online survey to six colleges in the Southeastern U.S. with assessments of sociodemographics, psychographic factors such as those used by the tobacco industry to define their target markets, psychosocial factors (sensation seeking, the big 5 personality traits which are 5 broad dimensions that are used to describe human personality: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism), and substance use (cigarettes, other tobacco products, alcohol, and marijuana). Overall, we recruited 24,055 college students, yielding 4,840 responses (20.1% response rate), with complete data from 3,469 students. Results: Cluster analysis was conducted among females and among males using 15 psychographic measures (sensation seeking, the big 5 personality traits, and 9 measures adapted from tobacco industry documents). This analysis identified three market segments among both genders-- Safe Responsibles, Stoic Individualists, and Thrill-Seeking Socializers. Safe Responsibles were characterized by high levels of agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, high academic achievement, and regular attendance at religious services. Stoic Individualists were characterized by low extraversion, sensation-seeking, and openness. Thrill-Seeking Socializers were characterized by high levels of sensation-seeking and extraversion. Binary logistic regression indicated that the Safe Responsibles had the lowest rates of substance use, while Thrill-Seeking Socializers had the highest rates. Among males, Stoic Individualist substance use rates were significantly higher than for females. Conclusions: These findings indicate that market research may be useful in qualitatively identifying different subgroups of young adults, and defining how male and female student populations behave differently in terms of their substance use. This approach may inform the development of interventions and health campaigns targeting young adults.
Table of Contents
I. INTRODUCTION..............7
II. LITERATURE REVIEW.....10
III. METHOD....................15
IV. RESULTS...................20
V. DISCUSSION...............22
VI. REFERENCES..............29
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