Palm - Spring 2008 - (Page 7) F E AT U R E Stages of Change (drinkers only) I am thinking about drinking alcohol in a healthier and safer way: BEFORE I drink and I see no need to change: BEFORE I am ready to try drinking alcohol in a healthier and safer way: BEFORE I have been trying to drink alcohol in a healthier and safer way: BEFORE 47% 37% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE 17% 24% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE 8% 10% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE 13% 13% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE Self Reported Use of Alcohol Heavy episodic drinkers : BEFORE Abstainers: BEFORE Drinkers: BEFORE Problematic drinkers: BEFORE 21% 25% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE 79% 75% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE 65% 55% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE 35% 25% 30 DAYS AFTER COURSE (5 or more drinks in one day at least once in the past two weeks) (10 or more drinks in one day at least once in the past two weeks) Fraternity. “From a purely business standpoint, we cannot afford to waste their time or money on any alcohol education program we do not believe is having some impact. One of the most exciting aspects of AlcoholEdu is that the data shows that the course is having a substantial and in some cases a dramatic effect.” Thirteen other national fraternities and 10 national sororities tap AlcoholEdu for an important component of their undergraduate member alcohol education. THE DATA Statistics on drinking, be they binge, underage, problematic, fraternity or varsity athlete, have relied on samples of students whose answers were deemed statistically sound conclusions for all students. Until now, the alcohol research gold standard was Dr. Wechsler’s Harvard studies which drew its conclusions from groups of between 25,000 and 40,000 students _ by all accounts large and reliable samples. But now AlcoholEdu has entered the statistical playing field not only as the new kid but the biggest. Every student who completes AlcoholEdu provides data. Multiply Joe or Jean College by 1,000,000 (and counting) and a data set has been created that makes statisticians giddy. Dr. Sparky Reardon, revered dean of students at the University of Mississippi, says the data provides an added benefit of AlcoholEdu, now in its second year at Ole Miss. “The administration is excited about seeing data trends on campus to determine if the program is really working for our students,” said Reardon. KILLING THE COWS Researchers working through the data are fine tuning and verifying conventional wisdom. However they are also challenging some sacred cows. One notion being laid to rest is that heavy binge drinkers, which make up a small portion of all campus drinkers, are causing the lion’s share of alcohol-related problems. Not true says Busteed, whose claim AT O . O RG 7
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