It has been estimated that 1,445 college students aged from 18-24 died in 1998 from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle accidents (Hingson et al., 2002). However, while several empirical studies have examined the effectiveness of brief interventions, and brief interventions plus booster sessions, there are no methodologically rigorous studies of long-term interventions. The proposed study aims to capitalize on the nearly unique opportunity afforded by college students being available for a number of years, just when drinking is escalating. College facilitation has been developed from the case monitoring telephone protocol (Stout et al., 1999). Very good pilot results have been obtained with a 5-month version of college facilitation. Volunteers from a nearby university's alcohol policy first offender program will be recruited and randomly assigned (by urn randomization) to one of two conditions: college facilitation for two years or the control group. Both groups will also receive the University of Rhode Island's standard First Offender fine and survey. A total of four hundred students will be recruited and followed for two years. The primary aim is to test whether college facilitation impacts drinking intensity and drinking-related consequences. Secondary aims will examine other outcome measures (academic functioning and reoffense rates) and hypothetical moderator and mediator variables. The two-year college facilitation program will consist of 18 planned contacts during the academic year. The proposed study will be one of the first to examine the efficacy of this many contacts spread out over this long a period in a college sample.
| Johnson, Heather R; Zywiak, William H; Graney, Daniel D et al. (2010) Predicting alcohol consumption during the month before and after beginning college. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy 5:11 |
