NIH Study Shows Specific Environmental Strategies That Are Effective in Reducing College Alcohol Consumption
Each week, the Higher Education Center showcases recent developments in the field of AOD abuse and violence prevention in higher education that may include new data and resources, upcoming events and programs, funding opportunities, and learning opportunities. To see a listing of previous This Week! features, visit the This Week! archive.
January 5, 2011
According to a report by researchers supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, highly visible cooperative projects in which colleges and their surrounding communities target off-campus drinking settings can reduce high-risk alcohol use among college students.
Researchers, led by Robert Saltz, Ph.D., of the Prevention Research Center, conducted the Safer California Universities study of college and community alcohol prevention strategies at 14 large public universities in California. Beginning in 2003, Saltz and his colleagues conducted random surveys of students from each of the participating schools. The survey documented that heavy drinking at off-campus parties was a common problem. Policy and enforcement interventions were implemented in 2005 and 2006 at half of the universities, while the other half was monitored for comparison. Interventions included nuisance party enforcement operations, surveillance to prevent alcohol sales to minors, drunken driving checkpoints, social host ordinances, and use of campus and local media to increase the visibility of the interventions.
Researchers measured the proportion of drinking occasions in which students got drunk in various settings. The greatest reductions were found at universities with the highest intensity of intervention implementation, achieved through heavy publicity and highly visible enforcement activities.
Results of the study, “Alcohol Risk Management in College Settings: The Safer California Universities Randomized Trial,” were published online in the December 2010 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Full citation: Saltz, R. F.; Paschall, M. J.; McGaffigan, R. P.; and Nygaard, P. M. O. “Alcohol Risk Management in College Settings: The Safer California Universities Randomized Trial.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 39(6), 491–499, December 2010.