BRIEF INTERVENTIONS FOR BINGE DRINKING COLLEGE STUDENTS

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The long-term goal of this research is to reduce the risks associated with binge drinking among college students. Approximately 40% of college students are binge drinkers, defined as consuming 5 or more drinks at a single occasion for men (4 or more drinks for women) at least once in the last 2 weeks. Binge drinking is associated with a variety of academic, social, and health-related problems. Preliminary findings support the use of brief, motivational interventions (BMIs) to reduce binge drinking and its' negative consequences. BMIs used with college students often consist of an initial assessment session followed by an individualized feedback session. The latter includes personalized feedback (PF) with normative comparisons, and alcohol education (AE) with tips for reducing risk, delivered in a client-centered, motivational style. This proposal describes two related studies designed to evaluate the efficacy of BMIs with binge drinking college students. All BMIs will be enhanced with feedback related to the co-occurrence of drinking and risky sexual behavior, and each study will determine whether adding a decisional balance (DB) exercise to the "basic" BMI enhances outcomes. In Study l, 411 binge drinkers will be recruited from the general population of college students. Participants will be randomly assigned to an assessment only condition, a basic BMI (PF and AE), or an enhanced BMI (PF, AB and DB). All participants will provide data regarding drinking and related problems at 1, 6, and 12 months post-intervention. In Study 2, 411 binge drinkers will be recruited from among the students referred to a campus substance abuse agency. In this study, all participants will receive an intervention; they will be randomly assigned to AE, basic BMI (PF and AB), or enhanced BMI (PF, AB and DB). Analyses will determine (a) the effects of BMIs on drinking behavior and alcohol-related consequences, (b)the incremental utility of the DB exercise, and (c) the mediational role of hypothesized mechanisms of change (e.g., changes in norm perception and decisional balance). Findings will help to establish the efficacy of BMIs for reducing binge drinking and related problems in college students, and the generalizability of BMIs to students who have come to the attention of campus authorities because of alcohol-related infractions.