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Trial of the university assistance program for alcohol use among mandated students
Hortensia Amaro1, Marilyn Ahl, Atsushi Matsumoto
1Institute on Urban Health Research, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA. h.amaro@neu.edu
Objective:
The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a brief intervention for mandated students in the context of the University Assistance Program, a Student Assistance Program developed and modeled after workplace Employee Assistance Programs.
Method:
Participants were 265 (196 males and 69 females) judicially mandated college students enrolled in a large, urban university in the northeast United States. All participants were sanctioned by the university's judicial office for an alcohol- or drug-related violation. Participants were randomized to one of two intervention conditions (the University Assistance Program or services as usual) and were assessed at baseline and 3 and 6 months after intervention.
Results:
Growth curve analyses showed that, relative to services as usual, the University Assistance Program was more efficacious in reducing past-90-day weekday alcohol consumption and the number of alcohol-related consequences while increasing past-90-day use of protective behaviors and coping skills. No significant differences in growth trajectories were found between the two intervention conditions on past-90-day blood alcohol concentration, total alcohol consumption, or weekend consumption.
Conclusions:
The University Assistance Program may have a possible advantage over services as usual for mandated students.
