Despite more than one-third of college students reporting alcohol misuse, few seek treatment. National Alcohol Screening Day (NASD) was initiated to promote treatment seeking, yet most attendees do not meet criteria for alcohol use disorder (AUD), and are not provided a treatment referral. Among attendees that are referred, few report intent to…

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the goal of screening in student health or other college settings is to reduce alcohol-related harm. NIAAA points out that identifying those students at greatest risk for alcohol problems is the first step in prevention. Colleges and universities have used a number of…

Objective: To assess the use of alcohol screening tools across US colleges. Participants: Directors of health services at 333 four-year colleges. Methods: An online survey was conducted regarding the use of alcohol screening tools. Schools reporting use of formal tools were further described in terms of 4 tools (AUDIT, CUGE, CAPS, and RAPS) that…

Abstract Objective: The authors evaluated the efficacy of the 2002 college-based National Alcohol Screening Day (NASD) by determining: (1) the demographic and clinical characteristics of the participants that were screened and (2) the degree to which those scoring at hazardous drinking levels received clinical intervention or were referred for…

To explore the relationship between alcohol problems and physical violence with partners and strangers, 457 college men and 958 college women with low, intermediate, or high scores on the Short Michigan Alcohol Screening Test reported conflict tactics on the Conflict Tactics Scale in the past year to and by partners and strangers. More men than…

Use of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI), a new instrument for assessing chemical dependency, was tested on 376 college students. The SASSI showed significant promise in discriminating between nonabusers, moderate abusers, and severe abusers. The need for an instrument impervious to social desirability effects is discussed.…

Examined the ability of CAGE, an established screening test for alcoholism, to identify accurately problem drinkers among college students (N=582). Found that the CAGE did not perform well enough to serve as a screening tool for problem drinking within the college student population. (Author/ABL)

This study evaluated the usefulness of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) in the medical assessment of college students. The MAST was administered randomly to 200 students at a student health center and was found to be useful as part of individual health assessments. (Author/MT)

The CAGE instrument is a 4-item questionnaire used for routine and rapid screening of alcohol problems. The term "CAGE" is an acronym with each letter representing one of the four items that comprise the instrument. A positive endorsement of two or more items is considered to be the threshold score, indicating the possibility of a…

Heavy drinking continues to be a nationally recognized problem on college campuses. This article describes how student affairs professionals play a pivotal role in identifying and referring these students for relevant services. A five-step model for alcohol screening, advising, and referral is described using motivational enhancement strategies.

The authors evaluated a protocol to screen and provide brief interventions for alcohol problems to college students treated at a university hospital emergency department (ED). Of 2,372 drinkers they approached, 87% gave informed consent. Of those, 54% screened positive for alcohol problems (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test score [less…

The goal of this curriculum is to help all health care professionals -- physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, social workers, health educators, counselors, psychologists, and others who work with college students -- identify and treat students who are at-risk or are having alcohol-related problems. The clinical methods…