Screening for alcohol problems among 4-year colleges and universities

To assess the use of alcohol screening tools across US colleges.

Directors of health services at 333 four-year colleges.

An online survey was conducted regarding the use of alcohol screening tools. Schools reporting use of formal tools were further described in terms of 4 tools (AUDIT, CUGE, CAPS, and RAPS) that the authors judged to be the most favorable based on prior empirical comparative studies.

Forty-four percent of colleges reported use of at least 1 formal alcohol screening tool and nearly all of these used a tool appropriate for college students. However, less than half of the 44% of colleges that used a screening tool used 1 of the 4 most favorable tools.

Continued efforts are needed to encourage colleges to use the most effective available screening tools to identify alcohol-related problems that require intervention among students.