Examples of Early and Brief Interventions

The following interventions incorporate all three of the effective strategies described in the NIAAA report. These interventions can be used either as stand-alone interventions or as the first stage of a stepped-care program. (Institute of Medicine, 1990; Dimeff et al, 1999) This list is not meant to be exhaustive but rather to provide a few examples of the application of effective strategies.

The Alcohol Skills Training Program (ASTP) was developed by the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington. The three key underlying elements of the ASTP approach are the application of cognitive-behavioral self-management strategies, the use of motivational enhancement techniques, and the use of harm reduction principles. The primarily cognitive behavioral alcohol prevention program provides information about alcohol use and addiction, and teaches skills for avoiding, resisting, and setting limits on alcohol use. The program consists of eight ninety-minute sessions with facilitated group discussions. Research indicates that the program effectively decreases participants’ peak blood alcohol level, and the amount of alcohol consumed per week, per month, and in heavy drinking situations.

BASICS (Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students) is another program, derived from ASTP, that uses a combination of strategies to reduce individual drinking. The program consists of two short individualized sessions with a counselor. The first session is used to assess the student’s drinking patterns, attitudes, and expectancies of alcohol. Then during the second session the student is provided with non-confrontational, non-judgmental feedback regarding his/her habits. (Dimeff et al, 1999) Studies indicate that students receiving BASICS report less drinking and fewer negative consequences of drinking than those that do not receive BASICS. (Marlatt et al, 1998) In addition, research indicates that these decreases in consumption are still significant months and years after BASICS participation. (Baer et al, 2001)

CHUG (Check-Up to Go) is a brief assessment that assesses drinking behavior. Encouraging findings suggest that mailed personalized feedback based on the CHUG assessment may reduce heavy drinking among college students (Walters et al, 2001; Walters et al, 2000). CHUG is available in a paper-pencil format and an electronic assessment-plus-feedback version called e-CHUG. Using normative feedback and motivational interviewing approaches, feedback is delivered online and is designed to motivate students to reduce their consumption using personalized information about their own drinking and risk factors. Research is underway to evaluate the effectiveness of this Web-based approach.

MyStudentBody provides information about alcohol and other drugs and the consequences of substance abuse. One component is a risk assessment which is based on BASICS. Research indicates MyStudentBody participants report significant decreases in rate and frequency of drinking and fewer negative consequences in follow-up. (Chiauzzi et al, in press)

Additional Applications of the Research

These programs are based on efficacy studies, but evaluation results have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals.

AlcoholEdu is an interactive assessment and personalized feedback tool for college students. Evaluations have shown AlcoholEdu to reduce consumption levels and negative behaviors associated with alcohol use. A new version has been designed for students who have violated alcohol policies.

CHOICES is a brief alcohol prevention and harm reduction program that uses interactive journaling to provide students with non-judgmental normative, psychological, and biological education about alcohol consumption. In addition, the intervention provides strategies for harm reduction. The program is administered to a group in one or two sessions lasting a total of 3 hours or less. NIAAA-supported research is underway to evaluate the use of e-CHUG and CHOICES together to reduce high-risk alcohol use and consequences.