When the party continues: Impulsivity and the effect of employment on young adults' post-college alcohol use.

BACKGROUND: The transition from college to work is both an exciting and potentially high risk time for young adults. As students transition from academic settings to full-time employment, they must navigate new social demands, work demands, and adjust their drinking behaviors accordingly. Research has shown that there are both protective factors and risk factors associated with starting a new job when it comes to alcohol use, and individual differences can moderate these factors. METHOD: 1361 students were recruited from 4 geographically diverse universities and followed 1month pre- and 1month post-graduation. Drinking frequency, quantity, consequences, and impulsivity were assessed. RESULTS: Full-time employment was related to increased drinking quantity but not related to changes in other drinking outcomes. However, impulsivity moderated the relationship between employment and drinking. For those reporting higher levels of impulsivity at baseline, full-time employment was associated with an increase in drinking variables (quantity and frequency), whereas drinking was unaffected by full-time employment status among those reporting lower levels of impulsivity. Implications for future research are discussed.

Evaluating a brief alcohol intervention with fraternities.

OBJECTIVE: The current study tested the efficacy of a brief intervention designed to reduce drinking and drinking-related consequences among first-year fraternity members. METHOD: Twelve fraternities were randomly assigned to receive either a motivational enhancement intervention with individual and housewide feedback components (n = 6 houses) or a treatment-as-usual control condition (n = 6 houses). Individual feedback was delivered either by peer interviewers or professional research staff. Participants were assessed during their pledge (first) year of house membership and during a follow-up period 1 year later. RESULTS: Of the participants who completed follow-up (N = 120), fraternity members who received the brief intervention reported significant reductions in alcohol use (total average consumption) and typical peak blood alcohol concentrations when compared with fraternity members in the control condition. No differences in drinking-related consequences were observed. Fraternity members who received their individualized feedback from peer interviewers and professional members of the research staff reported similar outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Results provide support for the efficacy of a brief motivational enhancement intervention in reducing drinking within this high-risk population. The cost-effective use of peer interviewers appears to be a promising strategy for delivering individualized prevention programming in college populations.

An individual in context: predictors of alcohol use and drinking problems among Greek and residence hall students.

Fraternity, sorority, and residence hall residents were compared on drinking rates and patterns, drinking-related problems, family history of alcohol problems, alcohol outcome expectancies, and high school drinking patterns. Results indicated residence in a fraternity was related to more frequent alcohol consumption and greater negative consequences even after accounting for family history, expectancies, and high school drinking rates. Family history of alcohol problems was only related to negative consequences for men. Only high school drinking rates were related to amount of alcohol consumed per occasion, for both men and women. Fraternity residence was found to be related to more negative consequences even after accounting for current drinking habits. However, sorority residence was found to moderate the relationship between current drinking and negative consequences. Both high and low drinkers in sororities indicated similar rates of alcohol-related negative consequences, whereas high frequency female drinkers in the residence hall sample reported significantly more problems.

Family risk factors for alcohol-related consequences and poor adjustment in fraternity and sorority members: exploring the role of parent-child conflict.

OBJECTIVE: The relationship between perceptions of parent-child conflict and alcohol-related consequences was examined in a sample of first-year fraternity and sorority members. METHOD: Members (N = 302) were asked to complete measures of conflict with their mothers and fathers and report on parent problem drinking. Drinking rates, alcohol-related consequences, depression, and global psychological distress were assessed 1 year later (N = 233). RESULTS: From a final sample with complete mother and father information (N = 202), parent-child conflict at baseline significantly predicted alcohol-related consequences 1 year later for all students. Father-child conflict was a significantly better predictor for male students. Parent histories of problem drinking did not account for this relationship. Although male students reported substantially higher rates of drinking, the relationship between drinking and alcohol-related consequences was stronger among female students. Parent-child conflict at baseline also predicted adjustment to college at 1-year follow-up. Students who perceived higher levels of mother-child and father-child conflict reported higher levels of depression. Students who perceived higher levels of father-child conflict reported higher levels of global psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that perceptions of conflict in specific parent-child relationships constitute a risk factor for poor college adjustment and the experience of alcohol-related consequences.

Relapse prevention. An overview of Marlatt's cognitive-behavioral model.

Relapse prevention (RP) is an important component of alcoholism treatment. The RP model proposed by Marlatt and Gordon suggests that both immediate determinants (e.g., high-risk situations, coping skills, outcome expectancies, and the abstinence violation effect) and covert antecedents (e.g., lifestyle factors and urges and cravings) can contribute to relapse. The RP model also incorporates numerous specific and global intervention strategies that allow therapist and client to address each step of the relapse process. Specific interventions include identifying specific high-risk situations for each client and enhancing the client's skills for coping with those situations, increasing the client's self-efficacy, eliminating myths regarding alcohol's effects, managing lapses, and restructuring the client's perceptions of the relapse process. Global strategies comprise balancing the client's lifestyle and helping him or her develop positive addictions, employing stimulus control techniques and urge-management techniques, and developing relapse road maps. Several studies have provided theoretical and practical support for the RP model.

Screening and brief intervention for high-risk college student drinkers: results from a 2-year follow-up assessment.

This randomized controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of a brief intervention designed to reduce the harmful consequences of heavy drinking among high-risk college students. Students screened for risk while in their senior year of high school (188 women and 160 men) were randomly assigned to receive an individualized motivational brief intervention in their freshman year of college or to a no-treatment control condition. A normative group selected from the entire screening pool provided a natural history comparison. Follow-up assessments over a 2-year period showed significant reductions in both drinking rates and harmful consequences, favoring students receiving the intervention. Although high-risk students continued to experience more alcohol problems than the natural history comparison group over the 2-year period, most showed a decline in problems over time, suggesting a developmental maturational effect.

An experimental test of three methods of alcohol risk reduction with young adults.

This study tested 3 forms of alcohol risk reduction programming for young adults. Volunteers were randomly assigned to receive a 6-week class and discussion group, a 6-unit self-help manual, or a single 1-hr feedback and advice session with professional staff. Results reveal significant reductions in self-reported drinking at the end of the intervention phase and maintenance of drinking changes throughout a 2-year follow-up period. Comparable drinking reductions were rated across treatments; however, noncompliance with the self-help reading program suggested limited utility. Treatment response was related to subject age, as subjects showed increased drinking during the year they reached legal drinking status. The efficacy of brief motivational interventions and client matching in prevention programs is discussed.

Applications of relapse prevention with moderation goals.

A brief description of the controversy surrounding moderation goals for individuals with alcohol problems is provided. Although the controversy is as yet unresolved, particularly for severely dependent individuals, evidence for the utility and appropriateness of offering goal choices (including moderation goals) to less dependent problem drinkers is discussed. In addition, secondary prevention of alcohol problems with high-risk drinkers often utilizes moderation goals; these individuals are unlikely to fit the traditional alcoholic pattern, but are at risk for a variety of intoxication-related problems. Relapse prevention, an example of a tertiary prevention program to facilitate abstinence in the treatment of addiction, may also be applied to secondary prevention (moderation) goals. Following a description of the relapse prevention approach and its use with moderation goals, two studies applying this approach to secondary prevention are discussed, and summaries of the results are presented.