Study: NU Directions leads success measures in binge-drinking reduction

An evaluation of efforts to reduce high-risk alcohol consumption on 10 campuses found that the program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was one of the most successful.

The Harvard School of Public Health study found reductions in drinking rates and alcohol-related harms at colleges that most fully implemented the program model, "A Matter of Degree: The National Effort to Reduce High-Risk Drinking Among Students." The program fosters collaboration between universities and their surrounding communities to change environments around campuses that promote heavy alcohol consumption. The results were published in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

UNL was one of 10 college communities participating in the program. The communities were monitored from 1997 through 2001 to evaluate success in reducing high-risk or binge drinking. Drinking and harm patterns from these 10 schools were compared to patterns at 32 other colleges from the national College Alcohol Study, spearheaded by Henry Wechsler, a co-author and principal investigator of the study, and lecturer at the Harvard School of Public Health.

At the five program schools, including UNL, that incorporated more of the recommended environmental policies and programs, significant changes were noted in drinking and related harms. These reductions did not occur at the group of sites that implemented fewer of these changes, nor at the group of 32 comparison colleges.

The evaluation found modest reductions -- between 5 and 11 percent -- in rates of binge drinking, frequent intoxication, taking up binge drinking in college, and in "usually binging when drinking" at the five program schools that incorporated more of the recommended policies and programs.

Students who drank alcohol at these same five schools also experienced an 18 percent reduction in student experience of five or more alcohol-related problems, such as missing classes, getting in trouble with police, and getting hurt or injured, according to the report. They reported 10 percent fewer second-hand effects from other students' heavy alcohol use, such as vandalism and interrupted sleep or study time. Similar reductions were not found at the five schools that had not implemented a high level of AMOD-recommended policies and programs. Consumption and harm patterns among students at the 32 colleges that did not participate in the AMOD program also did not decrease during this time period.

"Alcohol misuse by college students is not a problem that will go away simply by instituting a few programs," said James V. Griesen, co-chair of the NU Directions Campus-Community Coalition, the "A Matter of Degree" program at UNL. "What the Harvard study tells us is that we must continue to work both on campus and in the community employing a high degree of interventions. No one group -- college administrators, parents, hospitality establishments, students or the police can take the task on alone. NU Directions encourages all of UNL and Lincoln to join in the effort -- we all make the environment in Lincoln what it is, so we all play a role in making it safer."

In Lincoln, NU Directions has worked in cooperation with the state Liquor Control Commission, downtown establishments, UNL greek organizations and others to send consistent messages about alcohol and to encourage enforcement of local laws and standards. They communicate with UNL students to encourage safe drinking.

"These initial findings show that when colleges and communities focus their prevention efforts on key environmental influences, they can produce measurable declines in alcohol consumption and harms among both drinkers and those around them," said Elissa Weitzman, lead author and co-principal investigator of the study and senior research scientist in the Department of Society, Human Development and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. "While the changes associated with the fuller implementation of the environmental program were modest, this is the first empirical evidence that environmental prevention strategies can influence drinking among college students."

In light of recent publicity about a tragic death of a Colorado State University student from Nebraska, with some indication of alcohol as a factor, Griesen reminded everyone that no program is perfect and that unfortunately, accidents do and will happen on campuses everywhere.

"These tragic incidents remind us of how important these messages are and how vital our work is," Griesen said. "No one program is perfect, but together, hopefully, we will provide a higher degree of safety for students and the community."

Schools participating in the "A Matter of Degree" program are Florida State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Lehigh University, Louisiana State University, the University of Colorado, the University of Delaware, the University of Iowa, UNL, University of Vermont and the University of Wisconsin. The program was developed and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and managed by the American Medical Association. The program is funded through 2008.

For more information about "A Matter of Degree," visit www.alcoholpolicymd.com.

CONTACT: Tom Workman, NU Directions, (402) 472-8155