Education-only interventions produce little change in drinking behaviors; but, multi-component prevention programs, which include alcohol information as one feature, can decrease drinking. This study examined the role of alcohol knowledge in a multi-component intervention previously found to reduce first-year female college students' alcohol…

Few after-school programs target alcohol and other drug (AOD) use because it is difficult to encourage a diverse group of youth to voluntarily attend. The current study describes CHOICE, a voluntary after-school program which targeted AOD use among middle school students. Over 4,000 students across eight schools completed surveys and 15%…

Three experiments investigated the impact of anchors on students' estimates of personal alcohol consumption to better understand the role that this form of bias might have in social norm intervention programs. Experiments I and II found that estimates of consumption were susceptible to anchoring effects when an open-answer and a scale-response…

Intercept surveys were conducted with 149 college students each asked to record their alcohol consumption for the previous two weeks using the Timeline Follow-back (TLFB method). Immediately following completion of the pretest TLFB alcohol survey the students were presented with brief educational information defining what constitutes one standard…

This study was guided by a research question regarding the efficacy of the AlcoholEdu program in increasing the use of protective behaviors among incoming college freshman of different drinking risk groups. Specifically, the researcher sought to determine which drinker risk groups, if any, showed the greatest degree of willingness to change…

Using a randomized controlled effectiveness trial, we examined the effects of Project SUCCESS on a range of secondary outcomes, including the program's mediating variables. Project SUCCESS, which is based both on the Theory of Reasoned Action and on Cognitive Behavior Theory, is a school-based substance use prevention program that targets…

This article describes a new alcohol education program at Dickinson State University. The centerpiece of the program is the Alcohol Awareness Through the Arts Program. It involves dozens of students and faculty and regularly draws 400 to 450 audience members. Funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Otto Bremer Foundation,…

Confronting alcohol abuse is a challenge for most higher education institutions. Each year, students are admitted to hospitals for issues arising from the misuse of alcohol. The deaths of some engaged in alcohol related activities is especially worrisome. Factors such as age and financial standing could impact the likelihood of abuse. So-called…

Psychoactive substance use by students is common in many countries, obliging schools to deliver drug education. However, some jurisdictions do not prepare teachers for engaging their students in honest, knowledge-based education. This article looks at the history and queries the purposes of contemporary drug education. It compares current…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the implementation by a non-governmental organization (NGO) of an intervention with two different strategies--one employing confrontational approaches, the other cooperative ones--aiming to reduce the rate of successful purchase attempts (PAs) of medium-strength beer in Sweden.…

John M. McCardell Jr., president emeritus of Middlebury College, is a respected Civil War scholar. His lectures on the Gettysburg Address command large audiences at alumni meetings, and his seminars on the war always attract eager undergraduates. Recently the genteel academic threw himself into another conflict. Call it the Battle of the Binge.…

Alcohol use among college students has maintained its place as a major issue in American higher education since its inception. Although dangerous drinking has always proliferated among college students, institutions have only provided alcohol and other drug (AOD) education and interventions encouraging students to adapt less harmful habits for a…

The Student Substance Use and Safety Survey, administered annually to a random, representative sample of AISD students, provides self-report data on student knowledge, attitudes, and behavior related to substance use and school safety issues. This report summarizes district results for Spring 2013.

International students enrolling in American universities may receive education on alcohol use because alcohol consumption is a key concern across American colleges and universities. However, general alcohol education often overlooks the specific cultural, language, and learning needs of international students. This article reviews one current…

Objective: The authors assessed short-term effectiveness of a Web-based alcohol education program on entering freshmen. Participants: 3,216 incoming first-year students were randomized to a control or intervention group. Methods: Controls completed a survey and knowledge test the summer before college; 4 to 6 weeks after arrival on campus, they…