Partying during a pandemic: role of descriptive partying norms, residence, college alcohol beliefs, and political ideology in COVID-19 party behavior

Objective: Non-adherence to COVID-19 guidelines is a major public health issue. This study explored factors that explain college student party behavior (PB; defined as attending a college party wherein COVID-19 guidelines, including masks and social distancing were ignored) during the pandemic. Method: Freshmen students at a northeastern university (N = 207; 72% women) responded to an online Fall 2020 semester survey. Results: The percentage of students who participated in on-campus partying during past month was 11.6%, with 20.3% participating in off-campus partying. Living on campus and higher perceived norms for partying were associated with higher levels of on-campus PB, whereas higher perceived norms for partying, stronger college alcohol beliefs, and a more conservative political ideology accounted for significant variance in off-campus PB. Conclusions: Efforts to reduce party behavior should target misperception of party behavior norms as well as college alcohol beliefs, and take into account students’ residence and political ideology.