As many as 4.5 live births per 1000 are affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), preventable birth defects with life-long consequences. Prevention of FASDs is gaining in importance, and recruitment of diverse disciplines in delivering prevention to women of childbearing age is essential. This needs assessment explored to what extent…

Adolescence and emerging adulthood are critical windows for establishing life-long behaviors. We assessed long-term outcomes of a prospective randomized harm reduction/health promotion program for female high school athletes. The intervention's immediate beneficial effects on diet pill use and unhealthy eating behaviors have been reported;…

The aim of this study was to determine if differences on the set of alcohol related behaviors (alcohol use intensity and drinking consequences) emerge across both ideological and interpersonal identity statuses. A sample of 319 college students completed a series of alcohol related behavior questions and the Objective Measure of Ego-Identity…

Since college undergraduates tend to increase their use of alcohol to match what they perceive to be normative, the assumption has been that students who believe that others on campus drink more than they do (a common misperception) are in a vulnerable position. Taking a different perspective, we consider large other-self discrepancies in levels…

A secondary analysis of a quasi-experimental study was conducted to evaluate differences in students 'perceptions of empirically supported treatments (ESTS) randomized to experimental (n= 10) and attention-control (n= 10) manual-based therapy interventions. The results indicated that attitudinal changes took place for both groups. The results…

Social capital theory suggests that assets inherent in social relations may be used to enhance outcomes for individuals and that youth with increased access to social capital may be less likely to exhibit social and behavioral difficulties. The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to examine the relationship between social capital and…

Driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol is a major public health concern. By distinguishing the type of individuals violating driving while intoxicated (DWI) sanctions, intervention programs will be better suited to reduce drinking and driving. The purpose of this study was to examine the personal characteristics of DWI offenders and…

Despite a growing body of literature on the causes of heavy episodic drinking, little attention has been paid to this phenomenon in the sociological and criminological literature. This research assesses the extent to which a popular theory of crime and deviance, control theory, can explain heavy episodic drinking. Analysis of data collected from a…

This exploratory study was designed to compare several commonly used measures of alcohol use among college students in order to appreciate how estimations of college drinking may be affected by the type of assessment tool used. Consumption patterns of 42 college student drinkers were compared using a quantity-frequency measure, a graduated…

Religion plays a significant role in human life, yet its potential to influence health and health-related conditions is not well studied. This article cites several studies that examine the correlation between religiosity and substance abuse. This article also suggests that more systematic researches are needed to validate the correlation of…

This study examined the short-term effects of a web-based alcohol misuse and harm prevention course (College Alc) among incoming freshmen at a California public university. Analysis results indicated that at the end of the fall semester, students randomly assigned to College Alc (n = 173) had a higher level of alcohol-related knowledge and less…

The Healthy People 2010 guidelines identify substance abuse as a major public health problem in need of effective interventions for diverse populations including racial and ethnic minorities. However, the literature with regard to substance abuse in the African American community is rather scant. This article discusses the need for a research…

The cognitive abilities of 24 males at an in-patient substance abuse facility were assessed using the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination (Cognistat). Findings suggested that there were significant changes in cognitive functioning during the 21-day in-patient treatment as measured by the Cognistat. Implications for mental health…

Restricting alcohol consumption on campus is a measure often used by college administrators to prevent alcohol abuse and-alcohol-related problems. The effect of dry campus policies on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems, however, remains poorly understood. This report will compare characteristics of two dry campuses with descriptions…

This study examines the effects of self-tested blood alcohol concentration (BAC) feedback, from personal hand-held breathalyzers, on the accuracy of BAC estimation. Using an e-mail prompted web-based questionnaire, 19 participants were asked to report both BAC estimates and subsequently measured BAC levels over the course of 27 days. Results from…