Brief screening and intervention for alcohol and drug use in a college student health clinic: feasibility, implementation, and outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of the Brief Alcohol Screen and Intervention in College Students (BASICS) in a university primary care setting. PARTICIPANTS/METHODS: Undergraduates (N = 449) participated in BASICS and electronic surveys assessing frequency/quantity of alcohol and drug use, psychosocial and mental health outcomes, and demographic information. Data were collected at baseline and 6-month follow-up between August 2006 and August 2008. RESULTS: Drinking and drug use decreased between baseline and 6 months. Participants reported an increase in protective factors and in readiness to change alcohol-related behaviors, and a decrease in alcohol-related consequences and in distress symptoms. Heavy episodic drinking at baseline significantly moderated the changes in number of drinks in a typical week and in a typical weekend, and number of drinks on the occasion drank most on a weekend. CONCLUSIONS: BASICS can be implemented in a primary health care setting and university students may reduce their alcohol and/or drug use.

Trial of the university assistance program for alcohol use among mandated students.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a brief intervention for mandated students in the context of the University Assistance Program, a Student Assistance Program developed and modeled after workplace Employee Assistance Programs. METHOD: Participants were 265 (196 males and 69 females) judicially mandated college students enrolled in a large, urban university in the northeast United States. All participants were sanctioned by the university's judicial office for an alcohol- or drug-related violation. Participants were randomized to one of two intervention conditions (the University Assistance Program or services as usual) and were assessed at baseline and 3 and 6 months after intervention. RESULTS: Growth curve analyses showed that, relative to services as usual, the University Assistance Program was more efficacious in reducing past-90-day weekday alcohol consumption and the number of alcohol-related consequences while increasing past-90-day use of protective behaviors and coping skills. No significant differences in growth trajectories were found between the two intervention conditions on past-90-day blood alcohol concentration, total alcohol consumption, or weekend consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The University Assistance Program may have a possible advantage over services as usual for mandated students.