The “Wasted” Years?

1. The “Wasted” Years? The Past, Present, and Future of Heavy Drinking Among College Students John D. Clapp, Ph.D. , Director The U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Violence Prevention

2. Major Events in College Drinking Safe & Drug Free Schools Act; HEC Established; Harvard CAS First Environmental Studies A Call to Action Fiscal Crisis Cont. Animal House LSU Student Dies with .58 BAC; AMOD Straus & Bacon Amethyst Initiative National MLDA Established Illicit Drugs College Drinking Songs NIAAA College Drinking Grants AlcoholEDU FIPSE Grants Begin Phi Beta Kappa Founded at William and Mary St. Scholastica Day Riots: Oxford 2008 2010 1335 1776 1939 1969 2003 1997 1954 1978 1979 1984 1987 1994 1998 2002

3. The Distant Past

4. St. Scholastica Day Riots

5. Drinking Songs Oh, they had a little party down in Newport;
There was Harry, there was Mary, there was Grace.
Oh, they had a little party down in Newport,
And they had to carry Harry from the place.

Oh, they had to carry Harry to the ferry,
And the ferry carried Harry to the shore;
And the reason that they had to carry Harry to the ferry
Was that Harry couldn't carry any more.

For California, for California,
The hills send back the cry,
We're out to do or die,
For California, for California,
We'll win the game or know the reason why.

And when the game is over, we will buy a keg of booze,
And drink to California 'till we wobble in our shoes.

So drink, tra la la,
Drink, tra la la,
Drink, drank, drunk last night,
Drunk the night before;
Gonna get drunk tonight
Like I never got drunk before;
For when I'm drunk, I'm as happy as can be
For I am member of the Souse family.

 Drinking seems to have been a part of college culture from very early on. The “drinking song” is a common social indicator of this.

6. Little or No Prevention Pre-1980s Animal House: Extra Secret Probation! • Student Affairs handled problems on case-by-case basis • “Dry Campuses” • Alcohol and Drug Education

7. Strauss and Bacon (1953) Modified from original

8. The Past: Summary • Town/Gown problems are as old as higher education! • Drinking was a constant part of the college culture. • Men typically drank more than women. • Little to no formal prevention.

9. Person?

10. or Environment?

11. 1980s to Present

14. Heavy Alcohol Use among Adults Aged 18 to 22, by College Enrollment: 2002-2007 + Difference between this estimate and the 2007 estimate is statistically significant at the .05 level. http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/nsduh/2k7nsduh/2k7Results.pdf

18. The Update to the NIAAA Report: Key Findings Each year, college drinking is related to: • 1,700 student deaths from unintentional injuries • 599,000 unintentional injuries • 696,000 assaults • 97,000 sexual assaults or acquaintance rapes

19. Alcohol-Related Non-Traffic Unintentional Injury Deaths Among 18-24 Year Olds 18-20: +153% 21-24: +218% Replicated: NIAAA Presentation 12/08/09

20. Prevention Approaches: 1980s to 2011 Education Years Environmental Years Intervention Years ? Beer Goggles Self-Help Groups for Students Adult Children/Recovery Alcohol Awareness Week Crashed Cars/DUI Simulators Peer Education Alcohol Education RBS Enforcement DUI/MIP Statewide Initiatives Town/Gown Coalitions Social Norms Marketing Policies—Campus and Local BASICS Web-based Programs SBIRT Recovery Programs 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010 

21. Prevention Goals • In the 1980s the focus was on identifying high-risk individuals and promoting abstinence. Some Harm reduction around DUI. • The 1990s saw an increased understanding that the environment contributed to alcohol use and problems. Environmental change was seen as means of reducing harms. • 2000s saw a focus on individuals and universal screening emerged. Science-based programs sought to change individual drinking patterns that are high-risk.

22. Prevention Issues • There was a steady decline in federal funding for college-based prevention programs over the past three decades. • During the 1990s many campuses established institutional programs to address AOD but fiscal retrenchment in recent years has eroded such programs. • In the 2000s we saw a commercialization of alcohol prevention products.

23. Prevention Issues (continued) • In the late 2000s we began to see “issue fatigue” push back from college presidents (Amethyst Initiative). • Fiscal retrenchment also contributed to the principle of centrality in resource allocation. • Commercial products became “the solution.”

24. So, Where is the Field Now? • There is a large scientific literature on the epidemiology, etiology, and prevention of alcohol misuse and attendant problems. • There are too few resources devoted to address the issue on most campuses. • There is a disconnect between science and practice. • The scientific evidence strongly suggests, strategic, ecological approaches to prevention are most likely to sustain change.

25. The Future

26. What is Needed? • A comprehensive and dynamic approach to make systemic change including: • Education of college Presidents • Training of campus-based prevention professionals • Simple translation of science-based interventions by a collaboration of researchers and prevention professionals

27. What’s Needed to Move Forward? How? Peers, Federal Officials, Leaders, Stakeholders What? Alcohol is important issue and can be addressed Who? Presidents Education How? Collaborative Meetings and Field Work How? HEC, CDC, Others Who? Campus-Based Prevention Professionals Who? Researchers and Practice Professionals Training Translation What? Strategic Planning, Assessment, Implementation What? Checklists

28. Education • College presidents need to be reminded that alcohol remains the most serious threat to their students’ health and academic retention. • College presidents need to better understand that alcohol issues can be addressed through an ecological approach of science-based interventions. • Such interventions often require little in the way of resources.

29. Translation • Researchers and campus-based prevention professionals need to collaborate in more systematic ways. • Translation must be quick, adaptable, sustainable and specific. • Overly complex and expensive interventions are irrelevant. • Translated interventions must fit into a larger approach that addresses local needs. • Mediators are important!

30. Training • Campus-based prevention professionals need support and training in doing assessments of alcohol problems and their available resources. • They need training to help them to approach the development of prevention strategies that address local needs, are strategic, and evidence-based. • Training on implementing “translated” interventions.

31. What The Higher Education Center is Doing Now to Move the Agenda • Expert Panel working on translation of specific science based interventions • Training Institutes • Webinars • Online Trainings • Customized Technical Assistance • Publications • Web site: http://higheredcenter.ed.gov

32. Contact Us Web site:http://HigherEdCenter.ed.gov E-mail: HigherEdCtr@edc.org jdclapp@mail.sdsu.edu tdowns@edc.org Phone: (800) 676-1730 TDD Relay-friendly, Dial 711