"A few studies have shown that referred students are more severe in their drinking habits than others," said Nancy P. Barnett, assistant professor of research at Brown University and corresponding author for the study. "For example, one study found rates of binge drinking at 69 percent for males and 55 percent for females versus 45 percent for the nonreferred undergraduate population at a university. The referred students also had significantly higher scores on an alcohol-problem scale. These findings are not surprising and are almost self-evident – that people who get into trouble with alcohol are likely to drink more than those who don't – but it's important to have data to support such claims."
Highlights of the proceedings, which are published in the June 2004 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, are presented below.
Brief motivational intervention (BMI) and alcohol education (AE) sessions were effective. Referred students were particularly receptive to BMI, responding favorably to the concept of "harm reduction" rather than abstinence. Students receiving AE also reduced their alcohol use, suggesting that simply providing an opportunity to discuss alcohol-related information in a non-judgmental format can influence drinking behaviors.
"Harm-reduction approaches make a great deal of sense in both college-student populations generally and with mandated students more specifically," said Mark Wood, an associate professor psychology at the University of Rhode Island who is not associated with the study. "First, it's important to note that harm reduction exists on a continuum that begins with abstinence and ranges to practices that minimize the likelihood of negative consequences, such as moderating consumption and using designated drivers. Obviously, the most effective way to avoid negative consequences is not to drink. However, despite the minimum legal drinking age of 21, that's not the reality for the overwhelming majority of college students. Therefore, harm-reduction approaches reason that it's ultimately more effective to try and meet someone 'where they're at' and work together to reduce risks and negative consequences."
"In my experience," added co-author Brian Borsari, " the majority of alcohol education programs for mandated students are either group or individual abstinence-based browbeating sessions. The reductions in alcohol use that we found in the AE group, as well as the high satisfaction ratings, demonstrate that the environment in which the intervention occurs is very important. Simply creating a non-judgmental context in which alcohol information was provided appears to have a therapeutic effect."
