Improving interventions for prevention and control of alcohol use in college students.Among all age groups, young adults aged 18-24 show the highest rates of alcohol use and associated problems (United States Department of Health and Human Services United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS), n.pr a cabinet-level government organization comprising 12 agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [USDHHS USDHHS, n.pr See United States Department of Health and Human Services. ], 1997). Several surveys have been done with colleges and college students to determine the prevalence of the problems associated with alcohol. The Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard School of Public Health is (colloquially, HSPH) is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, next to Harvard Medical School and Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1999 College Alcohol Study was done with more than 14,000 students at 119 nationally representative colleges. The study found that 44.1 percent of the students were binge drinkers (five drinks in one sitting for men or four drinks in one sitting for women) at least once in the past 2 week period (Wechsler, Lee, Kuo, & Lee, 2000). A similar follow-up survey done in 2001 also found the number of binge drinkers to be 44.4% (Wechsler, Lee, Kuo, Seibring, Nelson, & Lee, 2002). A national study based on the criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders /Di·ag·nos·tic and Sta·tis·ti·cal Man·u·al of Men·tal Dis·or·ders/ (DSM) a categorical system of classification of mental disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, that delineates objective , Fourth Edition (DSM-IV DSM-IV Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). This reference book, published by the American Psychiatric Association, is the diagnostic standard for most mental health professionals in the United States. : American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential world-wide. Its some 148,000 members are mainly American but some are international. , 1994) found the prevalence of alcohol abuse among college students to be 31.6% and alcohol dependence to be 6.3% (Knight, Wechsler, Kuo, Seibring, Weitzman, & Schukit, 2002). A national survey of prevalence of screening programs for alcohol use through campus health centers found that only 32.5% of the schools were routine screeners and only 11.7% used standardized instruments for screening (Foote, Wilkens, & Vavagiakis, 2004). Ham and Hope (2003) in a review article have identified several factors associated with problem drinking in college students. Among demographic factors, being a man and being Anglo American provide greater risk for problematic drinking. Among personality factors sensation seeking, neuroticism, drinking history, alcohol expectancies, drinking motives, stress, less academic involvement, athletics, involvement in Greek organizations, less religious involvement, participation in drinking games and drinking norms provide greater risk for problematic drinking. Almost all campuses have programs to combat problems associated with alcohol. However, very few campus programs have been empirically validated and a large number found ineffectual (Waiters, Bennett, & Noto, 2000). Larimer and Cronce (2002) conducted an extensive review of all individual focused prevention and treatment approaches for college student drinking published between 1984 and 1999. They have classified these programs as (1) educational/awareness building, (2) cognitive-behavioral; and (3) motivational enhancement. In the educational/awareness building programs Larimer and Cronce (2002) have further classified programs as information- or knowledge-based programs, values clarification programs, and normative re-education programs. The review found no effect or at the most small effect from most of the educational/awareness type of programs. Further it found that many of these programs have not been tested in randomized controlled trials A randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a scientific procedure most commonly used in testing medicines or medical procedures. RCTs are considered the most reliable form of scientific evidence because it eliminates all forms of spurious causality. . The second category of programs is cognitive-behavioral skills-based programs. Many of these were found to be associated with changes in drinking patterns but in some of these studies adequate sample size accounting for attrition was needed. The third category of programs is motivational feedback. These programs were found to be efficacious ef·fi·ca·cious adj. Producing or capable of producing a desired effect. See Synonyms at effective. [From Latin effic in several settings such as emergency rooms, outpatient counseling centers, fraternity organizations, and high-risk college freshmen. Larimer and Cronce (2002) advocated for greater research by investigators who are themselves not involved in the development of the intervention and that utilize larger samples allowing for subgroup analyses. Walters and colleagues (2000) suggest a three-pronged approach based on the social cognitive theory Social Cognitive Theory utilized both in Psychology and Communications posits that portions of an individual's knowledge acquisition can be directly related to observing others within the context of social interactions, experiences, and outside media influences. (Bandura ban`dur´a n. 1. A traditional Ukrainian stringed musical instrument shaped like a lute, having many strings. , 2004) for developing effective programs on college campuses. First, outcome expectancies need to be targeted where irrational beliefs about alcohol need to be corrected and health-related values taught. Secondly, self-efficacy for refusal skills Refusal skills are a set of skills designed to help children avoid participating in high-risk behaviors. Programs designed to discourage drug use, violence, and/or sexual activity frequently include refusal skills in their curriculums to help students resist peer pressure while , relaxation, and self-monitoring of consumption needs to be taught. Thirdly, personalized feedback to heavy drinkers that compares their consumption with peer normative levels needs to be provided. It is evident from this discussion that there is a need for more effectual ef·fec·tu·al adj. Producing or sufficient to produce a desired effect; fully adequate. See Synonyms at effective. [Middle English effectuel, from Old French, from Late Latin programming on college campuses. Programs that go beyond merely knowledge provision or awareness building are needed. These programs must be theory-based and should utilize an adequate number of constructs from the chosen theory. For testing the efficacy, robust designs such as randomized ran·dom·ize tr.v. ran·dom·ized, ran·dom·iz·ing, ran·dom·iz·es To make random in arrangement, especially in order to control the variables in an experiment. controlled design with adequate sample size need to be used. Only then can we address the high rates of alcohol use, binge drinking binge drinking An early phase of chronic alcoholism, characterized by episodic 'flirtation' with the bottle by binges of drinking to the point of stupor, followed by periods of abstinence; BD is accompanied by alcoholic ketoacidosis–accelerated lipolysis and , and problems associated with alcohol on campuses. References American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Washington, DC: Author. Bandura, A. (2004). Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health Education & Behavior, 31, 143-164. Foote, J., Wilkens, C., & Vavagiakis, P. (2004). A national survey of alcohol screening and referral in college health centers. Journal of American College American College is the name of:
Ham, L. S., & Hope, D. A. (2003). College students and problematic drinking: A review of the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 23, 719-759. Knight, J. R., Wechsler, H., Kuo, M., Seibring, M., Weitzman, E. R., & Schuckit, M. A. (2002). Alcohol abuse and dependence among U.S. college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 63, 263-270. Larimer, M. E. & Cronce, J. M. (2002). Identification, prevention and treatment: A review of individual-focused strategies to reduce problematic alcohol consumption by college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 14 (Suppl.), 148-163. United States Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS] (1997). Ninth special report to the US Congress on alcohol and health. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. Walters, S. T., Bennett, M. E., & Noto, J. V. (2000). Drinking on campus: What do we know about reducing alcohol use among college students? Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 19, 223-228. Wechsler, H., Lee, J. E., Kuo, M., & Lee, H. (2000). College binge drinking in the 1990s: A continuing problem. Results of the Harvard School of Public Health 1999 College Alcohol Study. Journal of American College Health, 2000, 48(5), 199-210. Wechsler, H., Lee, J. E., Kuo, M., Seibring, M., Nelson, T. E, & Lee, H. (2000). Trends in college binge drinking during a period of increased prevention efforts. Findings from four Harvard School of Public Health college alcohol study surveys: 1993-2001. Journal of American College Health, 50 (5), 203 217. Manoj Sharma, MBBS MBBS, MBChB n abbr (BRIT) (= Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery) → título universitario MBBS, MBChB n abbr (Brit) (= Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery) → , CHES, Ph.D. Editor, Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati is a coeducational public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ranked as one of America’s top 25 public research universities and in the top 50 of all American research universities,[2] 526 Teachers College PO Box 210002 Cincinnati, OH 45221-0002 |
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