Individual-Focused Approaches to the Prevention of College Student Drinking

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Abstract

Alcohol consumption is prevalent among college students and can become problematic for some. Numerous randomized controlled trials have evaluated the efficacy of individual preventive interventions in reducing alcohol use and alcohol-related problems in college student populations. Consistent with earlier reviews, the balance of the evidence from studies conducted during the past 3 years strongly supports the efficacy of brief motivational interventions combined with personalized feedback interventions (PFIs) and personalized normative feedback (PNF), as well as of stand-alone PFI/PNF interventions. Recent analyses also continue to support the efficacy of alcohol expectancy challenge interventions, although the findings are less consistent. In addition, recent analyses offer mixed support for feedback-based interventions focused solely on blood alcohol concentration and for multicomponent, alcohol education–focused interventions that include elements of PFI/PNF. No evidence of efficacy was found for programs that only included alcohol education.

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Most cited references 43

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Epidemiology of alcohol and other drug use among American college students.

P. O'Malley, Emma L. Johnston (2002)

This article provides information on the extent of alcohol use and other drug use among American college students. Five different sources of data are examined for estimating recent levels of alcohol (and other drug) use among college students: Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS), the Core Institute (CORE), Monitoring the Future (MTF), National College Health Risk Behavior Survey (NCHRBS) and National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). Alcohol use rates are very high among college students. Approximately two of five American college students were heavy drinkers, defined as having had five or more drinks in a row in the past 2 weeks. Alcohol use is higher among male than female students. White students are highest in heavy drinking, black students are lowest and Hispanic students are intermediate. Use of alcohol--but not cigarettes, marijuana and cocaine--is higher among college students than among noncollege age-mates. Longitudinal data show that, while in high school, students who go on to attend college have lower rates of heavy drinking than do those who will not attend college. Both groups increase their heavy drinking after high school graduation, but the college students increase distinctly more and actually surpass their nonstudent age-mates. Trend data from 1980 to 1999 show some slight improvement in recent years. Despite improvements in the past 20 years, colleges need to do more to reduce heavy alcohol use among students.

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A gender-specific measure of binge drinking among college students.

Tracey Davenport, H WECHSLER, G Dowdall … (1995)

This study examined the relationship of volume of alcohol consumed to the occurrence of alcohol-related problems among male and female college students to develop a gender-specific measure of heavy episodic or binge drinking by college students for public health research. A self-administered survey was mailed to a national representative sample of students at 140 4-year colleges in 40 states and the District of Columbia. A total of 17,592 college students completed the survey. Women who typically drink four drinks in a row were found to have roughly the same likelihood of experiencing drinking-related problems as men who typically drink five drinks in a row. Use of the same standard for both sexes underestimates binge drinking and the negative health risks for women.

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Identification, prevention, and treatment revisited: individual-focused college drinking prevention strategies 1999-2006.

Jessica M. Cronce, Mary E. Larimer (2007)

This paper serves to update a prior review of the literature on individual-focused prevention and treatment approaches for college drinking [Larimer, M.E. & Cronce, J.M. (2002). Identification, prevention and treatment: A review of individual-focused strategies to reduce problematic alcohol consumption by college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol Suppl. 14, 148-163.], and covers the period from late 1999 through 2006. No support was found for information/knowledge approaches alone, or for brief values clarification approaches alone or with other informational content. Evidence was found in support of skills-based interventions and motivational interventions that incorporated personalized feedback, with or without an in-person intervention. Normative re-education interventions received mixed support, though personalized normative feedback was associated with positive outcomes. Significant advances have been made over the past seven years with respect to mailed and computerized feedback interventions, and interventions with mandated students. Much of the research reviewed suffered from significant limitations, particularly small sample sizes, attrition, and lack of appropriate control groups. More research is needed to determine the best methods for disseminating such interventions on college campuses, as well as additional research on interventions with high-risk groups of students.

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Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Alcohol Res Health

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Alcohol Res Health

Journal ID (publisher-id): ARH

Title: Alcohol Research & Health

Publisher: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

ISSN (Print): 1535-7414

ISSN (Electronic): 1930-0573

Publication date (Print): 2011

Volume: 34

Issue: 2

Pages: 210-221

Author notes

J essica M. C ronce, P h.D., is a senior postdoctoral fellow, and M ary E. L arimer, P h.D., is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

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Publisher ID: arh-34-2-210

PMC ID: 3342066

PubMed ID: 22330220

SO-VID: 312657af-eadd-461a-a4de-66ad47e68ab4

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Unless otherwise noted in the text, all material appearing in this journal is in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission. Citation of the source is appreciated.

Individual-Focused Approaches to the Prevention of College Student Drinking

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Most cited references 43

Epidemiology of alcohol and other drug use among American college students.

A gender-specific measure of binge drinking among college students.

Identification, prevention, and treatment revisited: individual-focused college drinking prevention strategies 1999-2006.

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