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HHD Plays a Leadership Role in Bringing Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention to College Students
HHD’s Center for College Health and Safety (CCHS) is partnering
with the University of Washington’s Addictive Behaviors Research
Center (ABRC) in a first-in-the nation effort to train
campuses to implement an individual-focused intervention that has proven
to be effective in moderating students’ drinking patterns and reducing
alcohol related harms.
College student drinking is a widespread problem that affects entire
campuses and their surrounding communities. The grim consequences of
student drinking include a decline in students’ academic performance,
high-risk sexual behaviors, vandalism, assaults, impaired driving, among
other negative physical and mental health outcomes. Even with sound alcohol
prevention programming in place on campus, some students are still problem
drinkers. Whether they came to school with pre-existing drinking problems
or developed them while in college, it is imperative that administrators
find a way to intervene with these students to change their drinking
behaviors.
One promising intervention is the Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention
for College Students (BASICS). BASICS moves beyond prevention by intervening
with students who drink heavily and may be at risk for alcohol-related
problems. BASICS consists of two 50-minute sessions and can be implemented
in many settings, including university-based health and mental health
centers, campus residences, and administrative offices. Students who
complete BASICS receive feedback about their drinking behaviors in a
non-judgmental manner intended to meet the student where they are and
motivate alcohol-related attitude and behavior changes. BASICS research
has shown that the intervention does in fact prompt students to lower
their alcohol consumption and successfully reduces negative consequences
when students do choose to drink.
FAST FACTS
- 67% of students receiving the
BASICS intervention resolved their behavior, meaning that,
statistically, their alcohol use was no different from
normal or low-risk students or reliably improved, meaning
their alcohol use significantly improved from baseline
to follow-up 4 years later, compared to 55% of controls
(a statistically significant 12% difference).
- Positive results documented in controlled
studies at three different universities
Source: SAMHSA Model Program: BASICS: Brief
Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students
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Recognizing the positive impact BASICS can have in changing students’ high-risk
drinking patterns, HHD and ABRC have formed the BASICS Statewide Implementation
Project. Supported by funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
and various state-based funders, the project is the only effort in the
U.S. that provides in-depth preparation to campuses statewide about the
successful implementation of BASICS. HHD and ABRC provide teams of campus
stakeholders with services such as training and planning sessions that
focus on securing resources, building capacity, training staff, and maintaining
fidelity to the intervention while making the adaptations needed to address
unique campus needs.
Laurie Davidson, HHD’s Director of the BASICS Statewide Implementation
Project, describes the importance of training campuses to properly implement
the intervention: “The efficacy of BASICS is strongly supported
by the research, but the real challenge for campuses is to bridge the
gap between research and real-world practice on different types of campuses.
The training and technical assistance that HHD developed with researchers
at the University of Washington’s Addictive Behaviors Research
Center helps campuses identify the infrastructure needed to support and
sustain an effective BASICS intervention.”
Dr. George Parks of the ABRC comments, “What these BASICS trainings
are providing is a clarification of the appropriate standard of care
for college and university students that is grounded in the adoption
of evidence-based practices.”
HHD’s Center for College Health and Safety, a long-time leader
in preventing and addressing high-risk alcohol use on campus, is enthusiastic
about including BASICS as part of its comprehensive strategy to address
college drinking and the resulting harms to students, the campus, and
the surrounding community. Since its beginning in 2005, the BASICS Statewide
Implementation Project has trained two states – Massachusetts and
Florida – in BASICS implementation, with four other states interested
in receiving training in the next few months.
Lore Detenber, Coordinator of Alcohol at Drug Education Services at
Western New England College, attended the Massachusetts training and
said, "The training included practical ways to adapt BASICS to my
setting, clear theoretical underpinning, data on effectiveness, technical
assistance, sample materials, practice time and encouragement. I'm very
grateful to have been provided such a wealth of resources and support."
For more information about the BASICS Statewide Implementation Project,
please contact Maggie Mannell at 617-618-2283, mmannell@edc.org.
June 6, 2006 |
