Effectiveness of web-based intervention for reducing problematic alcohol use in Korean female college students

ABSTRACT

Objective

This study applies and evaluates the effectiveness of the online-based program Brief Empowerment Program for Alcohol Use Monitor among female university students in South Korea.

Methods

Participants were current drinkers scoring three or higher on the AUDIT-C test. A total of 70 students participated in the experimental group and 113 students in the control group. The study used a pretest-posttest control group design and an eight-week web-based intervention with a repeated-measures analysis of variance.

Results

The experimental group displayed a significant decrease (11.7%) of the AUDIT-C score, indicating the intervention’s effectiveness.

Conclusions

The present study emphasizes the implementation of effective interventions to reduce heavy drinking. The significant effect of the intervention is related to the characteristics of the web-based program. A web-based program is more appropriate than an in-person intervention for female college students with problematic drinking when considering Korean society’s context due to concerns about stigma.

KEYWORDS:

• Binge drinking
• problematic drinking
• female college students
• web-based intervention

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Korean Mental Health Technology R&D Project, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea [Grant HM15C1124].