| |
 Supporting Research
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA, 2002) has identified motivational interviewing and cognitive behavior intervention strategies as showing clear evidence of effectiveness with college students. Fiellin, Carrington, and O’Connor (2000) and Wilk, Jensen, and Havighurst (1997) are just two examples of research that support the use of alcohol screening and brief intervention. As this has shown SBI’s effectiveness in the medical setting, other settings such as schools and the workplace are being explored.
Why Promote SBI on College and University Campuses
The effects of alcohol abuse on college students have been well documented. It is estimated that 1,700 college students between the age 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes. Additionally, nearly 600,000 students are unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol (Hingson et al., 2005). High-risk drinking behaviors also contribute to negative academic consequences (Engs et al., 1996; Presley et al., 1996a, 1996b; Wechsler et al., 2002), alcohol related health problems (Hingson et al., 2002) and students’ suicide attempts (Presley et al., 1998).
The BACCHUS Network and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) promote SBI as a tool for reducing high-risk drinking and subsequent impaired driving behaviors by college students. While the majority of college students choose not to drink and drive, over two million students between 18 and 24 drove under the influence of alcohol last year (Hingson et al., 2002). SBI can be used as part of a comprehensive, year-round, campus impaired-driving prevention program. There is compelling evidence in scientific and medical literature that SBI is effective in reducing drinking among problem drinkers and in motivating dependent drinkers to seek treatment (Wilk et al., 1997).
What Is in This Kit
The SBI Kit for College and University Campuses contains the following items:
- Instructions for conducting a brief screening;
- The AUDIT instrument for screening ;
- Handouts on the effects of alcohol, lower-risk drinking strategies and recommended drinking guidelines;
- Kit evaluation form to provide feedback for future improvement; and
- Flyer to advertise free screening event
|
