Can Web-Based Preenrollment Alcohol Brief Interventions Be Effective Screening Tools? Precollege Drinking Behavior Predicts College Retention and Alcohol Violations

Objective: To test if precollege drinking data gathered during an online brief intervention are associated with problems and could inform screening for campus alcohol prevention efforts. Participants: Two cohorts of incoming students (N=5300). Method: Precollege alcohol drinking was gathered through an online preenrollment alcohol brief intervention. Drop out was obtained from university records. On-campus alcohol violations were obtained from university judicial affairs, and off-campus alcohol citations were obtained from the city police. The 2011 cohort was tracked for 4 years, the 2012 cohort for 3 years. Results: Precollege abstaining and heavy drinking were significantly associated with retention and alcohol violations, even with ethnicity, residency, and gender controlled. Association of precollege drinking with later college problems extended beyond the first year and affected retention up to four years of enrollment. Conclusions: The findings support using data from preenrollment alcohol brief interventions as screening tools to customize further campus alcohol interventions.