HEC/Alert

HEC/News e-DigestJuly 22, 2011
From the Center
New Center This Week! Features, publications, Prevention Updates, and learning and training opportunities   

This Week! Screening for Alcohol Problems Among 4-Year Colleges and Universities 

Researchers at the University of Minnesota conducted an online survey of directors of health services at 333 four-year colleges regarding the use of alcohol screening tools. The survey results showed that 44 percent of colleges reported use of at least one formal alcohol screening tool and nearly all of these used a tool appropriate for college students. However, fewer than half of the 44 percent of colleges that used a screening tool used one of the four most favorable tools. The researchers concluded that continued efforts are needed to encourage colleges to use the most effective available screening tools to identify alcohol-related problems that require intervention among students.

 

More information about This Week! Features can be viewed at the Center's Web site.  

  

Prevention Update: Environmental Management Approach to Improve College Student and Community Relations to Reduce Binge and High-Risk Alcohol Use and Other Drug Problems Now Posted

A central feature of the U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Violence Prevention is the promotion of multiple prevention strategies that affect campus and surrounding community environments as a whole and can, thereby, have a large-scale effect on the entire campus community. As described in the College Alcohol Risk Assessment Guide: Environmental Approaches to Prevention, this approach reflects a public health perspective. A distinctive feature of public health is that it focuses mainly on communities, not individuals. A public health perspective stresses that problems arise through reciprocal relationships among an individual (host), a direct cause (agent), and the environment. In the case of alcohol problems, the direct cause is alcohol, and the environment is the social and physical context in which drinking occurs. 

  

To view online or download Environmental Management Approach to Improve College Student and Community Relations to Reduce Binge and High-Risk Alcohol Use and Other Drug Problems, please visit the Prevention Updates page on the Center's Web site.


New Case Study: Texas Tech University - Collegiate Recovery Community

In 2004, Texas Tech University received a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to document and export a model for recovery support services on campus. Initial efforts focused on placing the service components of operating programs into a unified model emphasizing the role of on-campus support in initiating and maintaining positive lifestyle changes among those with alcohol dependency and those in recovery. Called the Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC), the model was documented in a curriculum - titled Making an Opportunity on Your Campus: A Comprehensive Curriculum for Designing Collegiate Recovery Communities - designed to inform other colleges and universities about the process of implementing recovery services on campus. 

 

To read more about the CRC model and its success, visit the Center's Web site.

 
In This Issue
From the Center
Announcements from the Field
The Latest Research
Recent News Articles

 

Changing perceptions about college drinking

 

Coalition proposes tougher 21-only regulations

   
View more articles  
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Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Violence Prevention 
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 Announcements from the Field

Upcoming conferences and events, new resources and publications, and job opportunities in the alcohol and other drug abuse and violence (AODV) prevention field. The information shared on this site does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Education or the Higher Education Center. The U.S. Department of Education and the Higher Education Center do not necessarily endorse the events and resources listed below, but offer this information as a service to the AODV prevention field.  

 

Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking

This report, published in July 2011 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, presents statistics on the nature and extent of underage drinking. It also discusses the role of the federal government in preventing and reducing underage drinking and reports on state policies, enforcement activities, and prevention programs under way to address the problem.

 

To download a copy of the report, please visit the Web site of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

 

CDC Offers Free Online Violence Prevention Training: "Principles of Prevention"

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created its free, interactive "Principles of Prevention" (POP) training for everyone interested in learning about violence prevention, the burden violence places on society, and effective prevention efforts. POP features videos, animation, and interactive exercises developed to create a meaningful educational experience.

 

To take the course, please visit the "Principles of Prevention" Web site.

 

A Call to Men Academy: "Community Organizing & Leadership Training"

A Call to Men will host its first academy in Wisconsin.The purpose of the ACTMen Academy is to bring men and women together to engage in an intensive four-day hands-on, inspirational, and transformational experience. The primary goal is to assist men and women in their development as trainers and community organizers in order to advance efforts to engage men and boys in domestic and sexual violence prevention. Registration is $300.

 

Dates: September 11-14, 2011

Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

 

For more information, please visit A Call to Men.

 

The Redesign of the Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) Application  

The Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) online application allows users to access national and state estimates of alcohol-related health impacts, including deaths and years of potential life lost, for 54 acute and chronic causes using alcohol-attributable fractions, by age and sex. ARDI was recently upgraded to a more user-friendly platform; the estimates in the application have not changed. ARDI also allows users to perform custom analyses, such as by location or among specific racial or ethnic groups. These estimates provide vital information to understand better the health consequences of excessive alcohol use in the nation, including all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

To view the upgraded site, please visit Alcohol and Public Health: Alcohol-Related Disease Impact.

  

Job Opportunities  

The following positions were recently posted to the Job Opportunities section of the Center's Web site:

 

Health Educator

California State University - East Bay

 

Associate Director, Margaret Cuninggim Women's Center

Vanderbilt University

 

Assistant Director for Health Promotion

University of Maryland

 

Health Promotion Specialist

Northern Illinois University

 

Health Educator

Boise State University

  
From the U.S. Department of Education
Announcements and news from the U.S. Department of Education.
 

ED's Safe and Supportive Schools News

If you would like weekly e-mail updates on Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools programs, as well as other information related to school safety, substance abuse and violence prevention in education, and the promotion of student health and well-being, you may be interested in subscribing to ED's Safe and Supportive School News. Subscription information is at http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/listserv/preventioned.html.


U.S. Department of Education Releases College Cost Lists to Help Students Make Informed Choices

The U.S. Department of Education has released several College Affordability and Transparency Lists as part of its effort to help students make informed decisions about their choice for higher education. The Department created the College Affordability and Transparency Center on College Navigator to host the lists; the site also includes a variety of other data about individual schools, including information on admissions, retention and graduation rates, and financial aid.

 

For more information, please visit ED's College Affordability and Transparency Center.

 

The Latest Research
The latest research related to campus-based alcohol and other drug abuse and violence (AODV) prevention, with a special focus on the scope of the problem and promising strategies and interventions.     

  

Carpenter, C., & Dobkin, C. (2011). The minimum legal drinking age and public health. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25(2), 133-156.

 

LaBrie, J. W., Hummer, J. F., Lac, A., Ehret, P. J., & Kenney, S. R. (2011). Parents know best, but are they accurate? Parental normative misperceptions and their relationship to students' alcohol-related outcomes. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 72(4), 521-529.

 

More research studies can be viewed in The Latest Research section on the Center's Web site. 

 

The Higher Education Center news service (HEC/News) is provided by the U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Violence Prevention as a way to disseminate news and information related to alcohol and other drug abuse and violence prevention on campus and in surrounding communities. Through its Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, the Department funds the Center under contract number ED-04-CO-0069/0005. The contracting officer's representative is Phyllis Scattergood. The content of HEC/News e-Digest does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government.

For more information visit http://www.higheredcenter.org/services/assistance/news/disclaimer