Out of Harm's Way

URI takes aggressive steps to control alcohol abuse on campus.

Out of Harm's Way

By Maria Caliri '86, M.B.A. '92Photos By Nora Lewis

Some call it a "rite of passage," others call it "experimenting." The reality is,

however, that college drinking, especially binge drinking--defined as five or more drinks in a sitting for men and four for women--is a serious, and sometimes fatal, problem.

Although most college students cannot drink legally, a 1999 Harvard School of Public Health study reported that responses to mail questionnaires from 14,000 students at 119 nationally representative four-year colleges revealed that 44 percent admitted to binge drinking in the previous two weeks. This percentage remained unchanged from a similar 1993 Harvard study.

Underage and binge drinking also challenges the University of Rhode Island. Mark Wood, assistant professor of psychology, led a recently completed study that quantified the problem with eye-opening statistics. On average, men reported consuming 5.8 drinks per week in the summer prior to matriculation, 11.5 drinks per week by spring of freshman year, and 13.7 drinks per week by spring of sophomore year. For women, these numbers were 3.8, 7.7, and 9.0, respectively.

"We also observed significant increases in binge drinking and negative consequences from alcohol abuse, such as unprotected sex, missed classes, and blackouts," says Wood.

To address these staggering statistics and keep students safe, URI has taken unique and nationally recognized approaches to curb alcohol abuse.

In 1998, the President's Health Promotion Partnership, an alliance dedicated to helping people live healthier lives, established the Alcohol Team, a 12-member group composed of faculty researchers, administrators, and staff from the Psychology Department, the Cancer Prevention Research Center, the Office of Student Life, the Counseling Center, Health Services, the Research Office, University College, and the Office of Housing and Residential Life. Known as the A-Team, this group evaluates how student behavior is changed by University initiatives.

"Our multidisciplinary approach makes us unique," says Robert Laforge, professor of research psychology. "At most univer-sities, the administration and researchers work independently. Here, we're coordi-nating efforts."

Currently leading a collaboration involving colleagues from several departments, Laforge is the principal investigator on one of the largest controlled studies of binge drinkers. Funded with $1.4 million from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the study will test an innovative, interactive, and proactive prevention program to reduce high-risk alcohol behaviors. This system is based on the internationally known Transtheoretical Model for Behavior Change developed at URI by Professor James Prochaska, director of the Cancer Prevention Research Center.

The model, used successfully in helping people reduce other high-risk behaviors such as smoking, identifies five stages through which individuals move in changing a given behavior. These stages begin with precontemplation, during which a person does not even consider any changes, and ends with action, when the person finally begins to make changes.

"The Transtheoretical Model--it's a big name," says Laforge. "Essentially, we're testing a harm reduction approach. We're not necessarily trying to stop drinking because college students will continue to drink; we are trying to teach them safety measures that will reduce the hazards of drinking. We're also trying to reduce the circumstances in which drinking causes problems by providing individual feedback. We're examining whether personalized letters describing each individual's risk assessments will impact behavior."

NIAAA's funding for this study illustrates the agency's commitment to determine which strategies against alcohol abuse work, which have potential, and which are ineffective. As a member of the organization's Subcommittee on College Drinking, URI President Robert L. Carothers assumed a leadership role in bringing together leading researchers and university presidents to evaluate the quality of research on this issue and to establish the agenda for future research.

While studies are conducted, various University administrators are evaluating intervention programs currently in place. With funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Dan Reilly, director of Substance Abuse Prevention Services, is testing an early intervention program designed to correct first-year students' misperceptions of high-risk drinking.

The evaluation involves sending peer educators to URI 101 classes (one-credit courses required of all new students) to survey students about their own drinking habits and about their perceptions of their classmates' consumption patterns. After the data are collected, the peer educators make an alcohol-awareness presentation. They also provide students who are not in the control group with actual statistics about alcohol intake, thereby debunking the myth that everyone drinks. Among students who learn about their misperceptions, drinking levels decreased about half a drink per week.

"A decrease in weekly drinking of this magnitude may seem like much ado about very little," says Wood. "However, it's important to note that participants who didn't receive the 'normative correction' substantially increased their weekly drinking over the course of the first semester, a pattern consistent with what typically occurs among freshmen students at URI and other U.S. universities." To capitalize on this success, the project will be expanded to include all URI 101 classes in September.

While peer educators are positively impacting fellow students, many effective lessons are presented subtly through substance-free programming. Beginning in September with "Same Planet, Different World," a month-long series of events aimed at providing fun without the buzz, students can participate in numerous activities, including scavenger hunts and Hawaiian luaus on the Quad.

Staff in the Office of Student Life work diligently to provide students with alternatives to drinking. One of the most difficult tasks is modifying URI's annual Homecoming celebration. In recent years, tailgating and drinking have replaced the football game as the main event. At Homecoming 2000, 10 people sought medical treatment for drug or alcohol poisoning and others sustained physical injuries. In 1998, 18 people were transported to the hospital. Although alcohol is banned from both URI and student-sponsored events, Homecoming falls into a gray area and is not sponsored by either.

Dean of Students Fran Cohen realizes that many alumni think of their college years as "golden days of youth" and are reluctant to see the end of long-standing traditions such as tailgating with alcohol. "We're not teetotalers," she says. "We want people to have fun. We just don't want them to die doing it."

URI faculty and staff are dedicated to creating a stimulating culture for learning. To achieve this goal, the University must address the problem of alcohol abuse on campus. Through formal studies, alternative programming, and awareness programs, URI is making progress in the fight against substance abuse.

President Carothers is committed to advancing URI's efforts in this area. "We try to be clear with our students. We want them to gain a greater understanding of what they will and will not stand for as leaders in their communities," he says.

"The human toll flowing from alcohol abuse and other dangerous substances is one of the greatest challenges they will have to face as leaders. Learning to deal with that challenge begins here."

Maria V. Caliri '86, M.B.A. '92, is the editor of Gilbane Bulletin, a biannual magazine published for the company's customers and friends in the construction industry.

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