UI reviews strategies amid drop in student alcohol use

The University of Idaho is teaming up with the National Institutes of Health and other universities to rate strategies for combating underage drinking and alcohol abuse among students.

About 41 percent of UI students engage in binge drinking, which is similar to national trends, said Sharon Fritz, who oversees the drug and alcohol programs at the university’s Counseling and Testing Center. Binge drinking is five drinks for a male, or four drinks for a female, within a two-hour period.

College – particularly the freshmen year – can be a high-risk time for alcohol abuse, Fritz said. Many students are away from their parents for the first time.

“They’re making their own decisions without support and guidance, and that sometimes put them in harm’s way,” she said.

Since 2005, more UI students are reporting on surveys that they abstain from drinking, and among those who do drink, rates of alcohol consumption have declined. The College Alcohol Intervention Matrix – unveiled Tuesday by the National Institutes of Health – will help colleges to continue to evaluate their programs for effectiveness and cost by ranking nearly 60 alcohol-abuse prevention strategies already in use.

“It’ll help us fine tune what we’re doing on campus,” Fritz said. “We know that a percentage of our students are drinking in excess.”

When Fritz first arrived at UI in 1995, the university’s message to students was “Don’t Drink.”

“Students didn’t want to hear that message,” she said.

Over time, the message shifted to drinking responsibly to avoid negative consequences, such as poor academic performance, DUIs and increased risk of assault, date rape or unprotected sex.

Increasing students’ knowledge about alcohol, including the size of a drink serving, is part of the university’s Alcohol 101 program.

Another program teaches students what to do if a friend is drunk and heading toward a medical emergency.

But the university’s most effective program has been a short screening that asks students about alcohol use and offers immediate feedback from a counselor, Fritz said.

If the students don’t drink, the counselor can reinforce that nearly 23 percent of UI students are nondrinkers. If the students drink and want to cut back, the counselor can help them create a plan. A typical screening lasts five to seven minutes, Fritz said.

More than 370 UI students have taken the screening this fall.