Study Sees Less Drinking at Colleges with Prevention Policies

A new study finds that colleges with multiple alcohol-prevention policies on and off campus have a lower drinking rate and reduced alcohol-related problems, according to the American Medical Association (AMA). The study by the Harvard School of Public Health evaluated A Matter of Degree (AMOD), a program from the AMA that is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The program features interventions that colleges and universities can implement for students and surrounding communities to reduce the environmental factors that lead to high-risk drinking. Among the interventions are alcohol advertising and promotion controls; keg registration; mandatory training for responsible beverage service; stronger, more consistent campus-university enforcement and police collaboration; restrictions on selling alcohol without a license; and alcohol-free activities and residence halls. The report showed that institutions incorporating the majority of AMOD policies experienced a decline in drinking rates. In addition, the report found that college students at schools participating in AMOD were less likely to skip class, be assaulted by a drunk student, or hurt themselves after drinking. "AMOD policies and programs work because they go beyond the traditional prevention efforts that focus solely on the individual drinker," said AMA President-elect J. Edward Hill, M.D. "Today's college students face powerful social and commercial influences to drink. If we are to reduce the dangerous levels of campus drinking and its consequences, colleges and surrounding communities must cooperate to reduce the numerous environmental factors that contribute to alcohol abuse." The study's findings are published in the October 2004 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.