The Issue
During the spring semester of 2008, the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention & Education administered the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey to 1118 Carolina students. Of the students who completed the survey, 58.8% reported engaging in high risk drinking during the previous two weeks.* In addition to university findings, in 2005 the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) estimated over 1,700 student deaths, 599,000 injuries, and 696,000 assaults annually were associated with excessive drinking. Furthermore, according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, high-risk drinking epitomizes the greatest single problem that America's universities must address. The University of South Carolina is committed to reducing the high-risk behaviors and associated consequences experienced by our students. Therefore, beginning fall semester 2008, the University of South Carolina will require that all new, incoming, degree-seeking students 23 years of age and younger; must complete the myStudentBody.com alcohol module with a passing score of 80% or above before their next semester's registration period.
myStudentBody® Alcohol (MSB-Alcohol)In a NIAAA-funded randomized, controlled clinical trial, students who used myStudentBody® - Alcohol (MSB-Alcohol) reported significant decreases in their alcohol use. Compared to a text-based alcohol education website, the tailored approach of MSB-Alcohol more strongly affected students' drinking behavior. The clinical trial involved 265 students aged 18 to 24 from five colleges and universities. All participants fulfilled the criteria of "binge drinking"* within the previous week. Overall, the number of binge drinking episodes, typical drinking amounts and frequency, and the quantity of alcohol consumed on special occasions all decreased over the study period.
MSB-Alcohol was especially effective for females and problem drinkers**. Females who used MSB-Alcohol reported significantly fewer binge drinking episodes per week and significantly less total alcohol consumption during special occasions relative to females who used the control website. Problem drinkers in the MSB-Alcohol group reported significantly fewer binge drinking episodes compared to those in the control group. Among students less willing to change their drinking behavior (pre-contemplation), those who used MSB-Alcohol reduced the number of drinks per day at a significantly greater rate than those in the control group.
In addition to facilitating change in students alcohol use, MSB-Alcohol also captured students' interest. A large majority (88%) rated MSB-Alcohol as very or extremely successful in addressing college health issues, and two out of three students indicated that they would visit the site at least once per month. Results suggest that MSB-Alcohol is an effective, and widely accepted, on-campus tool for educating students about alcohol and promoting behavior change. This study also supports NIAAA recommendations for using brief motivational interventions, which are superior to information-
* Defined as four or more drinks on a single occasion for women; five or more drinks on a single occasion for men.
** Scored high on the RAPI (Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index), a measure of alcohol-related negative consequences.
Peer-reviewed efficacy results for myStudentBody Alcohol were published in the May/June 2005 issue of the Journal of American College Health. Use our online submission form to request a FREE article reprint.