Brief Alcohol Screening And Intervention For Community College Students (Basiccs): Feasibility And Preliminary Efficacy Of Web-Conferencing Basiccs And Supporting Automated Text Messages

Christine M. Lee, Jennifer M. Cadigan, Jason R. Kilmer, Jessica M. Cronce, Brian Suffoletto, Theresa Walter, Charles B. Fleming, Melissa A. Lewis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS; Dimeff et al., 1999) is an evidence-based approach to reduce high-risk drinking and associated harms; however, implementation may present challenges for community colleges (CCs) that have limited budgets and mostly non-residential students. We examined feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of BASICS for CC students (BASICCS) delivered remotely via web-conferencing with supporting automated text messages. Method: Participants included 142 CC students who reported exceeding National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA’s) weekly low-risk drinking recommendations and/or heavy episodic drinking (HED). Participants were randomized to BASICCS or assessment-only control (AOC) and completed 1-and 3-month follow-up assessments. Results: Most students liked the personalized information in the program and found the web-conferencing platform useful, however intervention completion rate was 56%. Significant differences were found between BASICCS and AOC. At 1-month, individuals in BASICCS had 33% fewer alcohol consequences than those in AOC. At 3-month follow-up,individuals in BASICCS had lower estimated peak blood alcohol concentration, 29% fewer drinks per week, 62% fewer episodes of HED, and 24% fewer consequences than those in AOC. Conclusions: BASICCS showed evidence of being acceptable and the technology proved feasible, although the intervention completion rate in the non-treatment-seeking volunteer sample was modest. Preliminary evidence does suggest BASICCS shows promise in reducing alcohol use and consequences. Technology-based platforms could be a viable prevention solution for CC students.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)840-851
Number of pages12
JournalPsychology of Addictive Behaviors
Volume35
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021

Keywords

  • alcohol
  • college
  • intervention
  • prevention
  • web-conferencing

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