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Abstract: Heavy alcohol consumption has been associated with collegiate sporting events, but little is known about specific levels of consumption over the course of an entire sports season. Ongoing web-based daily monitoring at the University of Texas at Austin allowed assessment of drinking levels of students (n =541) over two full football seasons. High-profile football game days were among the heaviest days for alcohol consumption, comparable to consumption on other well-known drinking days such as New Years Eve and Halloween weekend. Men increased their drinking for all games, and women with greater social involvement were more likely to drink heavily during away games. Among lighter drinkers, away games were associated with a greater likelihood of behavioral risks as intoxication increased. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The authors examined the global- and event-level associations between alcohol intoxication and 10 behavioral risks during the 1st year of college. Participants (n = 1113; 62% female; 54% Caucasian) completed 30 days of Web-based self-monitoring that assessed alcohol consumption and involvement in 10 behavioral risks. Generalized estimating equations analyses were used to determine which behaviors covaried with event-level versus global indices of intoxication as well as the moderating effects of gender on the intoxication-behavior associations. Alcohol use was globally related to 8 of the 10 behavioral risks; more important, 5 of the 10 behaviors specifically covaried with daily alcohol intoxication. The differential pattern of associations observed can inform clinical work by identifying groups of students who may most benefit from various intervention approaches and content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI; H. R. White & E. W. Labouvie, 1989) is a frequently used measure of alcohol-related consequences in adolescents and college students, but psychometric evaluations of the RAPI are limited and it has not been validated with college students. This study used item response theory (IRT) to examine the RAPI on students (N = 895; 65% female, 35% male) assessed in both high school and college. A series of 2-parameter IRT models were computed, examining differential item functioning across gender and time points. A reduced 18-item measure demonstrating strong clinical utility is proposed, with scores of 8 or greater implying greater need for treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a summary of a symposium presented at the 2005 Research Society on Alcoholism annual conference organized by Dan J. Neal and chaired by William R. Corbin. Event-level data, wherein each “event” (e.g., day) is captured as its own data point, capture the complex patterns of drinking and other high-risk behaviors in ways that the typical aggregate approach cannot. Because of their richness, methodologies that incorporate event-level data are becoming more common in alcohol research. At least 3 distinct forms of event-level data can be gathered: retrospective data (those collected on a single occasion, using memory aids to help each participant reconstruct all drinking events over a specific period of time), daily monitoring data (reporting on all events for that day), and momentary assessment (those recorded immediately following a drinking event or in response to a prompt from researchers). The goal of this symposium was to address many issues associated with event-level methodology, as well as demonstrate projects that are currently implementing such innovative data collection. The 4 presentations included in this symposium were “Realizing the Promise and Avoiding the Pitfalls of Retrospective Daily Estimation Assessments of Alcohol Use” by Frances K. Del Boca; “Using Interactive Voice Response Technology to Assess the Alcohol-Victimization Link” by Kathleen Parks, Linda King, and Ann Pardi; “Methodological Issues in Using Personal Data Assistants to Self-monitor Alcohol Consumption” by R. Lorraine Collins, Mark Muraven, and Charlene Vetter; and “Collecting Event-level Data Using the World Wide Web” by Dan J. Neal and Kim Fromme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Heavy drinking is prevalent on college campuses, and collegiate sporting events may precipitate heavy drinking. Despite this, relatively few studies have examined student drinking on the days of sporting events. In 2003, Syracuse University won the men's National College Athletic Association basketball championship; ongoing data collection allowed an investigation of alcohol consumption at Syracuse University during the two Final Four game days, when the semifinals and championship games are played. The goals of the study were to examine the level of alcohol use on these days and to examine factors related to game-day consumption. Method: As a part of an on- going study, 206 undergraduate students completed several questionnaires, then returned daily drinking diaries at 1-week intervals for 4 consecutive weeks. Results: Alcohol consumption levels on the two game days exceeded what is typical on campus. Further analyses conducted using zero-inflated negative binomial regression modeling demonstrated that heavier drinkers were more likely to drink alcohol, and drink alcohol heavily, on both game days. Furthermore, lack of impulse control was independently associated with an increased likelihood of drinking on both days. Conclusions: Although results from this study should be considered preliminary, these data document heavier drinking associated with high-profile athletic events. Sporting events may be a particularly opportune time and venue for collegiate risk-reduction programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to reduce the frequency of high-risk drinking have included the use of motivational interventions. Both the technique used in motivational interventions and an underlying theory of behavior change (i.e., self-regulation theory) invoke the construct of discrepancy development. This study was designed to determine whether techniques purported to develop discrepancy actually do so and to compare methods of developing discrepancy on indices of intention to reduce alcohol use. Male and female college drinkers (N=92) were selected if they reported two or more binge episodes in the last month, or scored 4 or higher on the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI). Participants were randomly assigned by gender to three conditions all conducted in a small group format: attention-control, personalized normative feedback (PNF), and personal strivings assessment (PSA). Personalized normative feedback was designed to develop discrepancy based on behavioral comparisons of self and others. Personal strivings assessment was designed to develop discrepancy between current and ideal self. It was hypothesized that participants who engage in discrepancy building activities would experience discrepancy specific to the activity in which they engaged, and that all participants who developed discrepancy would show higher levels of intention to reduce alcohol use. Results indicated that only the personalized normative feedback increased discrepancy and intention to reduce alcohol use. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Investigates the clinical significance of previously reported statistically significant mean reductions in drinking and related problems among college students in a randomized trial of a brief indicated preventive intervention. Alcohol-related problems and dependence; Baseline differences between high-risk and functional comparison groups.