Impact of an Online Alcohol Education Course on Behavior and Harm for Incoming First-Year College Students: Short-Term Evaluation of a Randomized Trial

Objective: The authors assessed short-term effectiveness of a Web-based alcohol education program on entering freshmen. Participants: 3,216 incoming first-year students were randomized to a control or intervention group. Methods: Controls completed a survey and knowledge test the summer before colle...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of American college health 2009-01, Vol.57 (4), p.445-454
Main Authors: Croom, Katherine, Lewis, Deborah, Marchell, Timothy, Lesser, Martin L., Reyna, Valerie F., Kubicki-Bedford, Lisa, Feffer, Mitchel, Staiano-Coico, Lisa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
alcohol
Alcohol Drinking - prevention & control
Alcohol Drinking - psychology
Alcohol Education
alcohol prevention
Alcohol related
Alcohol use
At Risk Persons
College Freshmen
College students
Colleges & universities
Comparative Analysis
Computer-Assisted Instruction - methods
Control Groups
Distance learning
Drinking
Educational Strategies
Female
Health Behavior
Health Education - methods
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
High risk
high-risk drinking
Humans
Internet
Intervention
Knowledge Level
Male
Online Courses
Program Effectiveness
Prospective Studies
School Health Services
Short term
Student Behavior
Student Characteristics
Students - psychology
Studies
Surveys
Undergraduate Students
Universities
Web Based Instruction
Young Adult
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Summary:Objective: The authors assessed short-term effectiveness of a Web-based alcohol education program on entering freshmen. Participants: 3,216 incoming first-year students were randomized to a control or intervention group. Methods: Controls completed a survey and knowledge test the summer before college; 4 to 6 weeks after arrival on campus, they completed a follow-up survey of behaviors and harms followed by an invitation to complete the online course. Intervention students completed the precourse survey and test, the online course, and final exam prior to coming to campus. This was followed by a survey 4 to 6 weeks after arrival on campus. Results: Although the intervention group showed significantly higher alcohol-related postcourse knowledge compared to the control group, protective behavior, risk-related behavior, high-risk drinking, and alcohol-related harm did not favor the intervention group, with the sole exception of playing drinking games. Conclusions: Alcohol knowledge alone was insufficient to mitigate alcohol-related high-risk behaviors in this student population.
ISSN:0744-8481
1940-3208
DOI:10.3200/JACH.57.4.445-454