Research

Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds: part two

Results of efforts to decrease the rate of binge drinking among intramural and sport club participants

The October 2006 edition of NIRSA Know provided preliminary data showing the efficacy of the Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds alcohol reduction program administered at The Ohio State University to the intramural and sport club participants. It was indicated that the final results would be released once the program was completed and the data was analyzed. The following article provides a summary of the final results from the 12-month U.S. Department of Education funded program.

Overview

The need for the project was based on the CORE (Core Institute, Center for Alcohol & Drug Studies, Southern Illinois University) survey data (2004) that shows that fraternities, athletics, sport club and intramural participants engage in high levels of alcohol and other drug use. In fact, intramural and sport club participants are 18% more likely to have engaged in binge drinking in the last two weeks and 15.6% more likely to have engaged in frequent binge drinking (3+ times in the last two weeks) than the average OSU student.

To impact the largest number of students, the program was aimed at intramural and sport club participants. The purpose of the project was to administer a five-point prevention plan that would reduce the incidence of binge drinking among intramural and sport club participants. The program included educational workshops, alcohol-free late-night events, social norms marketing messages, alcohol assessment sessions, and assessment of individual initiatives and the overall program. The following is a summary of the pre and posttest results as well as information on specific subgroups of intramural and sport club participants that showed the most favorable outcomes related to the program.           

Educational Workshops

The participants had a menu of educational programs to choose from, including Party Smart, BASICS, Double Dare, CHOICES, and Reasons for Drinking. It can be concluded that intramural and sport club participants became considerably more knowledgeable about alcohol by participating in the educational component of the program. More importantly, there was also an overall change in attitude, for the better, about alcohol consumption. The greatest impact was from the CHOICES program. When comparing intramural and sport club participant outcomes from participation in the CHOICES program, there was little difference; both groups had similarly favorable outcomes, as shown in the following table.

Pre and Posttest Results – CHOICES Program (n=310)

IM=Intramurals, S.Club=Sport Clubs

In general, the pre and posttest results showed a positive change in alcohol attitudes and an increase in knowledge about alcohol. Of the educational programs offered, the data indicates that the most favorable pre to posttest outcomes were achieved by the CHOICES program. However, the true measure of program success is a change in drinking behavior, determined by comparing the CORE survey results from baseline, prior to the start of the program, to the follow-up results obtained four weeks following the end of the program.

Social Norms Materials

This component of the alcohol reduction program involved posting four different 18” X 24” posters designed to educate students about the number of students that actually drink. The theory behind this intervention is based on the premise that students typically overestimate the number of students who drink and the amount that they drink. Almost half (46.4) of the intramural and sport club participants indicated that they had seen the posters on campus. A comparison of intramural and sport club participants revealed that a higher percentage of intramural participants saw the posters as compared to the sport club participants.

Overall Alcohol Reduction Program Outcomes

A modified version of the CORE survey was used to determine pre (n=352) and post (n=456) program changes in overall drinking habits of the intramural and sport club population at The Ohio State University. The outcome of the alcohol reduction program was based on pre and posttest results on four questions:

• The number of days that the participant drank alcohol during the past 30 days;
• The average number of drinks consumed a week by the participant;
• The number of times that the participant had five or more drinks at a sitting during the past two weeks; and
• The extent that alcohol use changed within the last 12 months.

Overall, the number of days that intramural and sport club participants drank alcohol during the past 30 days decreased from pre to posttest by 12.45%. However, it is observed that intramural participants drank 1.72% more after the program while sport club participants decreased the number of days that they drank in the last 30 days by 14.42%. The only subgroups of intramural participants that decreased their number of drinking days were sophomores and seniors. The only subgroup of sport club participants that did not decrease their number of drinking days was juniors. The subgroup with the largest change in drinking days was female sport club participants, who decreased their drinking days by 31.01%.

In total, the number of drinks consumed in a week by all participants in the program from pre to posttest decreased 10.74%. As with the previous question, however, it was the sport club participants who had an actual decrease in their drinking behavior. Intramural participants actually increased their average number of drinks in a week by 1.93%. The largest increase in drinking behavior belonged to male sport club members with a 39.81% increase, while the largest decrease in drinking behavior was female sport club members with a 58.86% decrease. Even though there was an increase in drinking rate among the male sport club participants, it was still lower than the intramural participants. Both male and female intramural participants increased their drinking rate, evident by the results shown below, which provides data on the number of drinks consumed a week by participants.

Average number of drinks consumed a week by participant

Pretest: Intramurals n=191; Sport Clubs n=157.  Posttest: Intramurals n=203; Sport Clubs n=260.

Overall, when comparing intramurals with sport clubs, the alcohol reduction program had a more profound effect on sport club members. This is evident by the increase in the number of participants who never or once had five or more drinks at a sitting during the past two weeks. Additionally, there was a decrease (8.7%) in the percentage of sport club members who, on six or more occasions, had five or more drinks at a sitting during the past two weeks. There was only a slight decrease (.3%) among intramural participants.

44.6% of the intramural and sport club participants indicated that they either decreased or did not use alcohol within the past 12 months. A higher percentage (73.1) of sport club participants fell into this category, as compared with intramural participants (65.9%). Fewer sport club participants (11.9%) indicated that they increased their drinking during the past twelve months as compared to intramural participants (13.1%).

Worth investigating are the possible explanations for the difference in the sport clubs and intramural alcohol reduction program outcomes. The reason for the disparity in results might stem from the differences in the structure of the two programs, sports clubs versus intramurals. Most sport club members are associated with the team for the entire year, while a majority of intramural participants are on a team for only one quarter. The year-long participation by sport club members provided numerous opportunities for participation in the alcohol reduction program. Additionally, sport club members were required to complete the mystudentbody.com program, which includes an alcohol reduction unit. On the other hand, intramural participants may have participated in only one educational program. In conclusion, the “dose effect” of participating in numerous educational programs and intervention over a span of time, a year, might have made the difference in the overall positive outcomes observed within the sport club participants.

In summary, it can be concluded that the alcohol reduction program increased the alcohol knowledge and positively changed alcohol attitudes among sport club and intramural participants. When comparing the sport club and intramural alcohol reduction program outcomes, a more profound effect was shown with the sport club participants.