Effects of an Online Alcohol Education Course Among College Freshmen: An Investigation of Potential Mediators

Abstract

The authors investigated possible mediating effects of psychosocial variables (perceived drinking norms, positive and negative alcohol expectancies, personal approval of alcohol use, protective behavioral strategies) targeted by an online alcohol education course (AlcoholEdu for College) as part of a 30–campus randomized trial with 2,400 first–year students. Previous multilevel analyses have found significant effects of the AlcoholEdu course on the frequency of past-30-day alcohol use and binge drinking during the fall semester, and the most common types of alcohol-related problems. Exposure to the online AlcoholEdu course was inversely related to perceived drinking norms but was not related to any of the other psychosocial variables. Multilevel analyses indicated at least partial mediating effects of perceived drinking norms on behavioral outcomes. Findings of this study suggest that AlcoholEdu for College affects alcohol use and related consequences indirectly through its effect on student perceptions of drinking norms. Further research is needed to better understand why this online course did not appear to affect other targeted psychosocial variables.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA Grant No. R01AA016584).

Notes

^a Fisher's exact test.

^b Student's t test.

^a N = 1,782 (control schools: n = 935, AlcoholEdu schools: n = 847).

^b N = 1,697 (control schools: n = 895, AlcoholEdu schools: n = 802).

*p < .05. **p < .01.

*p < .05. **p < .01.

*p < .05. **p < .01.

*p < .05. **p < .01.