University of Wyoming

Background

AWARE (Alcohol Wellness Alternatives, Research, & Education) is housed within the University Counseling Center at the University of Wyoming (UW). It promotes the message of personal wellness via guidance, education, research, and collaboration focused on healthy choices about the use of alcohol and other drugs.

AWARE strives to utilize best practices in providing alcohol and other drug abuse education and prevention programming for the University of Wyoming campus and community. It promotes a standard of wellness in regard to healthy choices surrounding alcohol use and the prevention of illicit other drug use by college students.

Consistent with the 3-in-1 framework recommended by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges (NIAAA, 2002), AWARE works to address alcohol-related issues at three levels: 1) the university and surrounding community; 2) the student population as a whole; and 3) the individual student. More specifically, this is what it does:

1. University and surrounding community: AWARE coordinates the A-Team, which is a campus–community coalition established in 2002 by an Executive Charge from the vice president of student affairs. It works to develop, recommend, and assess best practices in policy, prevention and intervention, and enforcement to reduce underage drinking and excessive alcohol use. Some of the projects the A-Team has been involved with include policy recommendations to UW administration and the Laramie City Council regarding alcohol, and working with local judges to curb underage drinking.
2. Student population as a whole: AWARE provides alcohol education and skills training to UW students through various avenues. AWARE has developed a peer education program where UW students provide alcohol education to their peers. In 2005, AWARE partnered with the UW Athletic Department and received a grant from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to implement a peer education program for UW student athletes called Cowboy CHOICES. AWARE also provides skills training and alcohol education to numerous organizations, including members of fraternities and sororities, residence halls, and other university departments.
3. Individual student: AWARE provides individualized alcohol education and skills training to students who have been referred to the program as a result of an alcohol-related citation. Students meet individually with an AWARE staff member, then complete approximately three additional hours of alcohol education tailored to their needs.

Program Activities

In academic year 2002-2003 A-Team members identified 10 areas to be addressed:

• Judicial sanctioning
• Greek system policies and practices
• Parental notification policies
• UW system of dealing with off-campus violations
• Role of advertising and the alcohol industry including local owners/proprietors
• Role of City Council and local ordinances
• High school aged perceptions of UW
• Community perceptions of UW
• Expectations of youth attending UW
• Resources and funding for primary/secondary prevention and intervention for UW students

As a result of the participation of two local judges, the A-Team suggested that alcohol violation fines, at $90 to $110, were not enough of a deterrent and recommended a fine increase. Fines for Minor in Possession and Minor Under the Influence violations were increased to $290 to $310 per offense. In addition, the A-Team convinced the Laramie City Council to deny permits for a “Welcome Back Students” party in downtown Laramie that was sponsored by several bar owners. A-Team members saw this as an event that would promote binge drinking and underage drinking. The Laramie City Council requested that the A-Team provide training to the Council on issues related to alcohol abuse and make policy recommendations to prevent underage drinking and access to alcohol.

During the 2003-2004 academic year the A-Team developed and adopted a mission statement, increased diversity in participation by recruiting more university and community members, and developed a way to share information that resulted in increased collaboration among A-Team members.

In academic year 2004-2005 AWARE developed the peer education program: 180 Proof Peer Education that included a safe spring break campaign, impaired driving simulation, a safe rides program, e-Chug online education, and Party Smart brochure with tips for having a safe party. UW also received an NCAA grant designed to involve athletics in expanded alcohol education on campus. The grant provided start-up funds for a long-term project called Cowboy CHOICES that solidified the cross-campus partnership between the athletics department and the university counseling center.

The Cowboy CHOICES project has three main focuses: a Cowboy CHOICES Leadership Team, campus prevention and early intervention programming, and a targeted social norms campaign. Overall the goals of this program are to reduce high-risk drinking and related behaviors among all college students; alleviate misperceptions concerning alcohol use and practices at UW with targeted high risk groups; and enhance the leadership skills and responsibility of college students involved in the Leadership Team. Specific activities for each component include:

1. Cowboy CHOICES Leadership Team: A group of student-athletes and other college students are trained in alcohol abuse prevention techniques and best practices for the reduction of risky drinking behavior. This team also serves as peer mentors and leads workshops for their fellow students.
2. Campus Prevention/Early Intervention Programming: This program is designed to enhance high-risk drinking prevention by increasing awareness and critical reflection on the subjects by student participants while building a base of knowledge and an understanding of harm reduction behaviors for student athletes and first-year students. The training is a peer education/peer mentoring model called the Cowboy CHOICES Program. Members of the Leadership Team conduct these trainings.
3. Targeted Social Norm Campaign: This is a targeted social norms campaign that focuses on changing misperceptions about drinking behavior for selected populations, who, based on specific characteristics, may be at higher risk for excessive use (e.g., fraternity and sorority members, athletes, first-year students). The goal of this program is to alter the peer group environment/norm in which high-risk drinking takes place. The social norms campaign included a public service announcement campaign to publicize policy messages and promote positive choices, particularly regarding drinking and driving, alcohol and unsafe sexual practices, and alcohol and violent behavior (i.e. fighting), that are played during and prior to high-profile athletic events. The Leadership Team had a major role in the development of the messages and announcement.

During the 2006-2007 academic year, among other activities, the A-Team developed a strategic plan and wrote a new alcohol policy for the University, conducted a study on a medical amnesty policy, assisted the Laramie City Council Ad Hoc Committee survey of liquor license holders, and participated in Laramie City Council and Ad Hoc Committee meetings and advocacy for mandatory server training and point system for liquor license renewal.

AWARE Program

Students who are referred to the AWARE program first complete a substance use assessment (SUA), which is a one-hour individualized screening tool used to match them with the most appropriate services. After the SUA, the student begins an educational process to learn how to assess personal substance use patterns better. During this process, students build rapport with AWARE staff.

Once the SUA has been completed, students are assigned to one of the following intervention options as appropriate:

• Alcohol Education Seminar (AES): This three-hour alcohol education seminar conducted by AWARE staff provides practical information about alcohol consumption and combines “…cognitive-behavior skills training, norms clarification, motivational enhancement, and harm reduction strategies to reduce high risk drinking behavior.”
• Online alcohol education program: This is a three-hour online program that covers similar information that is presented in the face-to-face AES program.
• Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS): This individualized alcohol education program is conducted over two to three 50-minute sessions and focuses on “…providing skills and influencing motivation to reduce harmful consumption and associated problems in students who drink alcohol.”

Evaluation

Participants. From August 2004 through May 2008, 778 students were referred by a university official or local judge to AWARE as a means of remediation for an alcohol-related violation such as underage consumption or possession of alcohol, open container, driving under the influence, or drunk and disorderly conduct. Four hundred and ninety-two students (64 percent of all referred students) who completed both the pre- and post-intervention surveys were included in the analysis. Students who did not complete the follow-up survey, completed a higher level intervention (e.g., BASICS, marijuana education seminar), or were referred to treatment outside of AWARE were excluded from the analysis. Approximately 84 percent (409) of the participants were between ages 18 and 20, while 16 percent (76) were 21 or older. Sixty-five percent of participants were male and 35 percent were female.

Baseline to Follow-up Differences in Frequency and Quantity of Drinking, Negative Consequences, and Harm Reduction in Full Sample. Paired sample t-tests were used to assess changes in the full sample of 492 students from baseline (pre-intervention survey) to follow-up (post-intervention survey) in frequency and amount of alcohol use, negative consequences (such as getting into fights, injuries, blackouts, pass outs), and harm reduction strategies (such as alternating between alcohol and non-alcohol beverages, eating before/during drinking, using a designated driver, setting drinking limits, counting drinks). The results follow:

• Participants reduced their frequency of drinking from an average of 3.07 to 2.83 days per month, p < .001.
• Typical drinking amount, defined as the number of standard sized drinks (12 oz. of beer, 4 oz. of wine, or 1.25 oz. of 80 proof liquor) consumed on a weekend evening, declined from an average of 4.59 to 3.64 drinks, p < .001.
• Typical blood alcohol content (BAC) declined from baseline (M = .070) to follow-up (M = .053), p = .007.
• Peak drinking amount (defined as the greatest number of standard sized drinks consumed on one occasion over the past month) diminished from 6.62 drinks at baseline to 5.30 drinks at follow-up, p < .001, with corresponding reductions in peak BAC from an average of .110 at baseline to .087 at follow-up, p < .001.
• Fewer negative consequences reported at follow-up (M = 1.76) versus baseline (M = 2.10), p = .05.
• Increased usage of harm reduction strategies (as defined by a summation of frequency and number of drinking strategies used over the past 30 days) from an average of 23.92 at baseline to 24.57 at follow-up, p < .05.
• These results are consistent with UW and the AWARE program’s “harm reduction” approach to addressing alcohol issues and also move toward the Division of Student Affairs’ Learning Outcome of Healthy Lifestyle Choices.

Results

The lessons learned at the University of Wyoming are that collaboration is possible both within the university and with the surrounding community. It is also important to evaluate efforts, start small and work toward bigger projects, involve students and incorporate alcohol training in resident assistant training, find new ways to get messages out, and make prevention a part of the campus culture.

In 2008 the University of Wyoming’s AWARE program was designated as a promising program under the U.S. Department of Education’s Models of Exemplary, Effective, and Promising Alcohol or Other Drug Abuse Prevention Programs on College Campuses Grant Competition. The AWARE program will undergo enhancements at three levels of intervention:

• Individual Level: Data will be collected at both one- and three-month post-intervention intervals to measure the program’s sustained effect on drinking behaviors and related negative consequences. To facilitate data collection, management, and analysis, an electronic data collection and data management system will be designed.
• Student Body Level: Based on positive outcomes among students mandated to take an online alcohol education program, the online program within a new population (i.e., first-year students) will be replicated and evaluated.
• Community Level: An impact evaluation of its campus–community coalition will be conducted to measure the effect of the coalition on alcohol-related changes in the community and social norms.