Results and Recommendations From the NIAAA Task Force on College Drinking: New Opportunities for Research and Program Planning

Treating Addictions in Special Populations: Research Confronts Reality

October 7 and 8, 2002

Binghamton Regency Conference Center
Binghamton, New York

Fred Donodeo, MPA
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Bethesda, MD
Contact: Fred_Donodeo@nih.gov

Why Was the Task Force Created?

• Increasing Public and NIAAA Concern
• Congressional Inquiries
• Gaps in Research
• Need to provide science-based information to colleges
• Bring research to the forefront of the discussion

Composition of Task Force

• 15 College Presidents
• 17 Researchers
• 8 College Students
• 4 High School Students
• Chairs:
  • Rev. Edward Malloy (U.N.D.)
  • Dr. Mark Goldman (U.S.F.)

Task Force Goals

• Provide new, comprehensive data on the extent of the problem
• Advise NIAAA and other policymakers on gaps in knowledge to inform future research to improve campus prevention and treatment programs
• Provide presidents, policymakers, and researchers with information and recommendations on the effectiveness of current interventions and encourage them to embrace rigorous methodology and research-based solutions in general

Why is the Task Force Unique?

• First project of such length (3 years) involving presidents and researchers who deliberated to reach their conclusions
• First NIH report on college drinking to offer recommendations based on a comprehensive review of the research literature
• First report to offer tiered, research-based recommendations to presidents and staff
• Offers a comprehensive research agenda to address gaps in knowledge

Task Force Products

• Task Force Report
• Two Panel Reports
• 24 scientific papers (see handout):
  • 1 published in the Journal on Alcohol Studies
  • 18 published in a supplement to the Journal on Alcohol Studies
• Brochures for parents, presidents, and RAs/Peer Educators
• Planning Guide for college staff on how to implement and evaluate intervention programs
• Website
• CD - ROM

Major Sections of the Task Force Report

• Extent of the Problem
• Research-based recommendations for Presidents
• Recommendations for future research
• Research Recommendations for NIAAA

Magnitude of College Drinking Consequences (All statistics are annual)

• 1,400 Alcohol-Related Unintentional Injury Deaths (1,100 Traffic)
• 2.1 Million Drove Under the Influence
• 500,000 Injured
• 400,000 Had Unprotected Sex
• 100,000 Had Sex When Unable to Consent
• 70,000 Victims of Sexual Assault
• 600,000 Assaulted

Research-based Recommendations for Presidents and Programming Staff

• 3-in-1 Framework
• "Tier" Approach

The 3-in-1 Framework

The 3-in-1 Framework is a useful introduction to encourage presidents, administrators, college prevention specialists, students, and community members to think in a broad and comprehensive fashion about college drinking.

• Individuals, including at-risk or alcohol-dependent drinkers
• Student body as a whole
• College and Surrounding community

Task Force Recommendations

• Tier 1: Evidence of Effectiveness Among College Students
• Tier 2: Evidence of Success With General Populations That Could Be Applied to College Environments
• Tier 3: Evidence of Logical and Theoretical Promise, But Require More Comprehensive Evaluation
• Tier 4: Evidence of Ineffectiveness

Recommendations for the Research Community

• High priority on evaluation research
• Well-designed evaluation studies...
  • Increase likelihood of program effectiveness
  • Maximize use of resources
  • Validate program credibility
• Extract more and better information from existing research databases
• Develop standards for assessing campus alcohol problems, monitoring trends, and evaluating programs
• Improve existing data systems (e.g. FARS) to more accurately monitor college drinking deaths over time
• Collaborate with universities to capitalize on "natural experiments"
• Partner with universities on short-term evaluations of popular, common- sense prevention strategies
• Assist universities in using research- based evidence to improve alcohol policies and programs

Recommendations to NIAAA: Improving Research Methods

• Implement a national surveillance and data system for all U.S. colleges and universities
• Support development of state-of- the - art screening and assessment measures

Recommendations to NIAAA: Lengthy and Complex Research

• Longitudinal studies of youth - early adolescence to young adulthood
• Measuring effectiveness of campus- community coalitions
• Multi-site campus trials of promising strategies

Other Task Force Recommendations to NIAAA

• Disseminate research-based information to all college campuses
• Expand funding to support college drinking research on as many campuses as possible

Ongoing NIAAA Activities

• Website
• Regional Workshops
• Annual Updates
• Research funding available from NIAAA: $8 million over next two years

Conclusion

• Task Force conclusions are not an end, but a beginning
• Provides the foundation for science, rather than anecdote, to guide college drinking prevention efforts

Scientific Papers Commissioned by The NIAAA Task Force On College Drinking

Papers Commissioned by Panel 1: Contexts and Consequences

• Magnitude of Alcohol Related Mortality and Morbidity Among U.S. College Students Ages 18-24, Ralph Hingson, et al.
• Measuring College Alcohol Use and Abuse The Method Shapes the Message, George Dowdall and Henry Wechsler
• Epidemiology of Alcohol Uses Among College Students, Patrick O’Malley
• Student Factors: Understanding Individual Variation in College Drinking, John Baer
• Today’s First Year Students and Alcohol, Lee Upcraft
• So What is An Administrator to Do?, Susan Murphy
• College Factors Influencing Drinking, Phil Meilman and Cheryl Presley
• A Developmental Perspective on Alcohol Use and Heavy Drinking during Adolescence and the Transition to Young Adulthood, John Schulenberg and Jennifer Maggs
• Alcohol Use and Risky Sexual Behavior Among College Students, Lynne Cooper
• Surveying the Damage: A Review of Research on Consequences of Alcohol Misuse in College Populations, Wesley Perkins
• Alcohol and Aggression on College Campuses, Peter Giancola
• Alcohol and Sexual Assault: A Common Problem Among College Students, Antonia Abbey
• The Adolescent Brain and the College Drinker: Biological Bais of Propensity to Use and Misuse Alcohol, Linda Spear

Papers Commissioned by Panel 2: Prevention and Treatment

• Individually Oriented Interventions, Mary Larimer
• Campus Norm Setting, Wesley Perkins
• Environmental Policy, Traci Toomey and Alexander Wagenaar
• Effects of Uniform Age 21 Laws, Alexander Wagenaar and Traci Toomey
• Comprehensive Interventions, Ralph Hingson
• Advertising and Promotion, Henry Saffer
• Methodology, Robert Saltz
• Description of Ongoing Policies and Practices, William DeJong
• Counter-Advertising and the Use of Media for Health Promotions, William DeJong
• Student Perspectives, Peggy Eastman
• Politics of Change and Leadership: Questions and Answers with College Presidents, Joy Mara

* Full text of all papers can be found at www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov