sun god summary

8/13/2019 Sun God Summary

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Kim Fromme, Ph.D.

UCSD Task Force for Sun God Festival

September 26, 2013

Challenges to Prevention of College

Drinking


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College Drinking: Whats the problem?


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Some Facts about College Student Drinking 70-90% of college students drink alcohol

Many drink moderately and without problems

Yet, an estimated 1,800 college students dieannually of alcohol-related injurie

Motor vehicle accidents Alcohol poisoning


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Heavy Drinking andAlcohol related Consequences

56% of college men and 35% of college womenare heavy episodic drinkers

Heavy episodic drinking is associated withsocial, academic, and behavioral problems

Hangovers

Driving after drinking

Blackouts

Doing something they regret

Missing class or work due to drinking


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What College Students Bring to College

Family Background

Genetics

Parental drinking and

attitudes Parental involvement

in childrens lives

Individual Factors

Gender and race

High school alcohol

use Personality traits

Expectations

About alcohol

About college life


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Prospective and reciprocal processes thatinfluence drinking Selection:People choose environments or people that

have certain patterns of drinking

Heavy drinking friends in high school are replaced with heavy

drinking friends in college

Join a Fraternity or Sorority

Socialization:People adapt to their environments and

friends

Alter their drinking to meet expectations Match the drinking rates of friends


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What Environmental Characteristics

Contribute to College Drinking

Community

Outlet density

Marketing (e.g., Happy

Hour specials, sporting

events)

Norms and expectations

Enforcement

College

Peer norms

Availability of alcohol

Policies and enforcement

Residential systems

Level of supervision

Reputation of dorms and

Greek houses


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College Residence and Changes inDrinking from HS to College


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What about the College Culture Contributes

to Heavy Drinking?

Greater personal freedom

Few real world responsibilities

Drinking is often expected and reinforced

College viewed as Time out Especially for specific times/events (e.g., Spring

Break, Post-exams, Sun God Festival)

Drinking and other behavioral risks increase fromhigh school through college


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Alcohol Use from High SchoolThrough College

-0.4

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

HS Fresh Fall Soph Fall JuniorFall

SeniorFall

Year 5Fall

Year 6Fall

Outcome(z-score)

Drinking & Driving

Alcohol Frequency

Alcohol Quantity


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So What do we Know about College

Prevention Efforts?

What works and what doesnt


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What does not work

Information and knowledge-based programs Alcohol awareness programs

Facts about alcohol and about laws

Scare tactics Threats about dire consequences

Frightening images

Easiest to implement, but ineffective


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Attempts to Convey the Hazards of

Heavy Drinking


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What might work (but needs furtherevaluation)

Policies that appear to reduce drinking: Alcohol-free activities and dorms

Campus bans (including faculty and alumni events)

Mandatory Friday classes

Social marketing campaigns to correct peer

norms

Media messages to promote light drinking


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NIAAA Task Force on College DrinkingTier 1: Effective Interventions

Brief motivationally-based interventions

Skills training programs

Multi-component cognitive-behavioral

programs including:

Expectancy challenge

Individualized feedback


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Primary Targets of EffectiveIndividual level Prevention Programs Motivation to drink

Skills to moderate use

Outcome expectancies

Peer norms(e.g., over-estimation effects) Residence (e.g., Greeks)


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Reviews of Individual orientedPrevention Programs Larimer & Cronce (2007)

41 studies met inclusion criteria Support for skills-based and motivational

interventions that incorporated personalizedfeedback

Mixed support for norms-challenging interventions

Carey, Scott-Sheldon, Carey, & DeMartini (2007) Meta-analysis of 62 studies

Fixed effect sizes ranged from .02 to .22(with one peak BAC =.41)


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Review of Environmental Policiesto Reduce College Drinking(Toomey, Lenk, & Wagenaar, 2007)

36 (of 110) studies with college students

Mixed results for reducing access

Mixed results for social norms campaigns

Multistrategy approaches appear best Server training alone not effective

Policies to restrict access not effective alone

Social norms campaigns can have iatrogenic effects


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Parent Interventions for College Students(Turrisi, August 2005)

Target - Universal & Selective

Written handbook for parents

Motivation, knowledge, skills

Reduced drinking by students

when parents involved


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Conclusions about Current AlcoholPrevention Efforts with College Students

The good news Brief, motivationally based interventions, and multi-

component skills-based programs result in decreased

alcohol use and/or associated behavioral

consequencesThe bad news

Reductions arent dramatic

Time accounts for significant effects


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Some emerging directions for tackling

college drinking

Target selection and socialization processes Involve parents, schools, and communities

One size unlikely to fit all Develop targeted interventions by age, personality, and

academic/career goals Consider ways to involve peers and campus leaders

Bystander interventions

Athletes; Organizations (e.g., Greeks)

Focus on Event-specific Prevention


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Event-specific Prevention (ESP)

College student drinking is highly variable Overall rates may be low, whereas heavy drinking on single occasions

Community and personal events are often marked byheavy consumption

New Years Eve, St. Patricks Day, spring break, and Halloween 21stbirthdays, graduation, and accomplishments (e.g., finals)

ESP efforts can energize a campus and community

Defined problem(s) to be solved

Vs. the daunting task of overall alcohol prevention


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Efforts to Target Specific Events

21stBirthday celebrations Students often consume more on 21stbirthday than any other high

risk drinking events (e.g., New Years Eve; Halloween)

Birthday cards with prevention messages (mixed)

Internet-based normative feedback (encouraging)

In person and web-based BASICS for 21stbirthday In person most significant outcomes

Spring Break A time of peak drinking during the academic year

Efforts to change peer norms Modestly effective


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Setting Goals and Developing Strategies for

Event-specific Prevention

Possible goals Reduce high levels of consumption

Health protection (e.g., alcohol poisoning; ER visits)

Limit alcohol-related behavior problems (e.g., aggression;

driving) Possible targets/strategies

Attitudes and expectations

Environmental changes (e.g., availability; enforcement)

Medical amnesty Safe ride programs


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Starting points

Unlikely to change overall drinking at UCSD in a shortperiod of time

Opportunity to decrease harms during Sun God Festival as a

huge step forward Importance of framing strategies in ways students accept and

promote

Need to involve a broad base (students, alumni, parents,

faculty, and community) Consider harnessing all available means (e.g., social media)


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Reactions, Questions and Moving

Forward

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