Alcohol abuse prevention programs in college students

Abstract

Trends in alcohol consumption of college students remain a concern. Presented is a systematic review to determine the efficacy of alcohol-abuse interventions for college students. To be included in this review, the study must have been published in English between 2007 and 2012, include an alcohol-abuse intervention for college students in the US, use any quantitative study design, and measure psychosocial variables related to alcohol behavior. A total of 49 studies met these criteria, including 40 RCTs. Motivational interviewing (n = 12) and brief motivational interventions (n = 10) were the most widely used intervention strategies, with the majority of the interventions targeting college students under 21 years of age (n = 35). Results indicate interventions found success with decreased drinking (n = 34), reduction in alcohol problems or consequences (n = 8), and decreased peer perception of alcohol use (n = 4). Considering the success of these programs, alcohol prevention programming is warranted on college campuses. Programs including a brief, personalized consultation with a trained facilitator may yield the greatest improvements in targeted behaviors. Reported limitations within intervention design included low sample sizes, high attrition rates, and significant differences in baseline characteristics. Future studies should aim to address these limitations in study design as well as conduct long-term follow-up to determine sustainability of intervention effect.

• Alcohol abuse
• brief motivational interventions
• college students

Acknowledgements

This work was performed by Ms. Taj Haider, Dr. Melinda Ickes, and Dr. Manoj Sharma. This study did not warrant institutional review board review as no human subjects were involved.

Authors’ contributions

M.S. conceptualized the study, collected the data, developed the inclusion criteria, analyzed the data, and reviewed the manuscript. T.H. collected the data, analyzed the data, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. M.I. revised the search, collected additional data, analyzed the data, and updated the manuscript.

Declaration of interest

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this paper. The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, or publication of this paper.