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Evaluation of an Expectancy Challenge Presentation in Reducing High-Risk Alcohol Use Among Greek Affiliated College Students

NCJ Number
306627
Author(s)
Date Published
2010
Length
62 pages
Annotation

This thesis presents an intervention program that seeks to reduce risky drinking behavior in Greek chapter houses on university campuses.

Abstract

The author of this thesis addresses the findings from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s Task Force on College Drinking, which revealed college-environment specific drinking patterns and their negative consequences. Since membership in a fraternity or sorority serves as a unique predictor for risky drinking behavior and increased risk of suffering from negative consequences related to alcohol, the author performed a study with the goal of implementing an expectancy-based presentation in Greek chapter houses to alter expectancies and decrease risky drinking behavior. The study measured alcohol expectancies before and immediately following the presentation; alcohol consumption was also assessed in a self-report measure of drinking for the 30 days prior to the presentation as well as 30 days following it. Analyses revealed significant reductions in positive alcohol expectancies and alcohol consumption on measures of quantity, average drinks per setting; frequency, average drinking days per week; and heavy episodic drinking, average weekly peak blood alcohol content. As a result, the author concludes that the structure and effectiveness of the proposed intervention program was useful and practical for widespread implementation in Greek chapter houses across all college campuses. The author notes that limitations included: alcohol consumption was only assessed one-month post intervention; difficulty in gaining access to fraternities and sororities; and that the study did not account for level of involvement in the Greek system and its relation to alcohol consumption.

Date Published: January 1, 2010