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 language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 840-851 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Psychology of Addictive Behaviors |
Volume | 35 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2021 |
Keywords
- alcohol
- college
- intervention
- prevention
- web-conferencing