2008 Woodie Awards
Training programs help curb student drinking
Matt Rotman
Issue date: 3/6/07 Section: News
Help may be out there for people concerned about their or a friend's dangerous drinking habits.
According to a recent Swedish study, interactive lectures and discussions used in part of a brief skills-training program, can aid in reducing the amount of alcohol imbibed by college students.
Studies in past years have concluded that people in the demographic of 18- to 29-years-old consume more alcohol than anyone else, 42.6 percent of college students partake in more heavy drinking than 38.1 percent of students not enrolled in college.
This particular study, conducted at the Lund University in Malmo, Sweden used students living in 98 residence halls from 556 different universities.
The students were given the alcohol use disorders identification test or AUDIT, the same evaluation used in the counseling services at ISU, according to alcohol and drug intervention specialist, Kathy O'Connell. "What [the Lund study] refers to is a brief screening and intervention process the BASICS program used here incorporates."
The AUDIT corresponds to the BASICS program and asks students such questions as "how often do you have a drink containing alcohol" and "how many drinks do you have on days you are drinking?"
"Usually, somebody that does high-risk drinking, or binge drinking, that somebody has had five or more drinks in one sitting," O'Connell stated.
Also, she said BASICS is not therapy, but an awareness exercise that is constructed around two different sessions, in which students are asked to write a self-reflection upon their drinking and given a card to record their drinking.
O'Connell said keeping track of how much you drink can many times surprise students to the extent of how much alcohol they actually consume.
Educator in ISU Health Promotion, Jim Almeda, warned though it depends on how much one drinks, it is possible to experience heath affects just during the years one is enrolled in college.
"I do know, over a two week period, if there is very heavy drinking, there can actually be damage to the liver," he said.
"Many students think drinking's only a problem if they're drinking often or going out drinking a lot."
"However, students who binge drink every Friday night may not have all their abstract thinking through the week, depending on how heavy the binge."
According to a recent Swedish study, interactive lectures and discussions used in part of a brief skills-training program, can aid in reducing the amount of alcohol imbibed by college students.
Studies in past years have concluded that people in the demographic of 18- to 29-years-old consume more alcohol than anyone else, 42.6 percent of college students partake in more heavy drinking than 38.1 percent of students not enrolled in college.
This particular study, conducted at the Lund University in Malmo, Sweden used students living in 98 residence halls from 556 different universities.
The students were given the alcohol use disorders identification test or AUDIT, the same evaluation used in the counseling services at ISU, according to alcohol and drug intervention specialist, Kathy O'Connell. "What [the Lund study] refers to is a brief screening and intervention process the BASICS program used here incorporates."
The AUDIT corresponds to the BASICS program and asks students such questions as "how often do you have a drink containing alcohol" and "how many drinks do you have on days you are drinking?"
"Usually, somebody that does high-risk drinking, or binge drinking, that somebody has had five or more drinks in one sitting," O'Connell stated.
Also, she said BASICS is not therapy, but an awareness exercise that is constructed around two different sessions, in which students are asked to write a self-reflection upon their drinking and given a card to record their drinking.
O'Connell said keeping track of how much you drink can many times surprise students to the extent of how much alcohol they actually consume.
Educator in ISU Health Promotion, Jim Almeda, warned though it depends on how much one drinks, it is possible to experience heath affects just during the years one is enrolled in college.
"I do know, over a two week period, if there is very heavy drinking, there can actually be damage to the liver," he said.
"Many students think drinking's only a problem if they're drinking often or going out drinking a lot."
"However, students who binge drink every Friday night may not have all their abstract thinking through the week, depending on how heavy the binge."
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