Volume 27, Issue 6: December, 2000

Abstract

A THEORY-BASED MOTIVATIONAL APPROACH FOR REDUCING ALCOHOL/DRUG PROBLEMS IN COLLEGE

William R. Miller, PhD, Radka T. Toscova, PhD, Joseph H. Miller, MSW, and Victoria Sanchez, DrPH, MPH

The Campuswide Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Program (CADAPP) was implemented and evaluated over a 1.5-year span at the University of New Mexico (UNM). Drawing on self-regulation theory as a basis for understanding motivation for change, the program was designed to increase risk perceptions and thereby reduce the use of alcohol and other drugs among university students. The program was evaluated from 1988 to 1989 through repeated anonymous random sample surveys of all enrolled students on the UNM campus and on a similar control campus not implementing new prevention efforts during the same period. As predicted, relative to the control campus, students on the CADAPP campus after the program showed significantly higher perceived risks from substance use and significantly reduced levels of alcohol and marijuana use. These findings provide encouraging evidence for this theory-based approach to primary and secondary prevention.