NIAAA’s CollegeAIM Program Helps with Planning Alcohol Interventions
CollegeAIM helps colleges and universities address harmful and underage drinking among students by identifying effective alcohol interventions.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), which is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), has updated its comprehensive and research-based booklet and website to help schools identify effective alcohol interventions.
CollegeAIM, the College Alcohol Intervention Matrix, helps colleges and universities address harmful and underage drinking among students by identifying effective alcohol interventions. It can help schools choose interventions wisely, boosting their chances for success and helping them improve the health and safety of their students.
According to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 53.6% of full-time college students drink alcohol and about 34.8 % binge drink, putting them at increased risk of a broad range of negative consequences, including increasing their risk for contracting and spreading coronavirus.
“Alcohol impairs both physical and mental abilities and decreases inhibitions,” says the organization. “Reduced inhibitions from drinking may affect a student’s ability to take precautions needed to reduce their risk of contracting the coronavirus or spreading it to others.”
NIAA has since made revisions to CollegeAIM to accommodate new and evolving policies and statistics regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
CollegeAIM provides colleges and universities with:
- An extensive review of decades of scientific literature
- A multi-year collaboration involving 16 leaders in college alcohol intervention research
- More than 60 interventions rated for effectiveness, costs, and other criteria
- Two user-friendly matrices: one for interventions that target individual students, including those in higher-risk groups, such as first-year students, student-athletes, members of Greek organizations, and mandated students; and the other for environmental-level interventions, which target the campus community and student population as a whole.
With the help of CollegeAIM, school officials can also:
- Review individual– and environmental-level strategies to learn how current strategies compare to other alternatives
- Find new evidence-based options
- Use an interactive strategy planning worksheet to help select a combination of approaches that meet individual campuses’ needs and budget
For additional resources and information, visit collegedrinkingprevention.gov/collegeaim.
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