Leadership Exchange - Spring 2008

The typology matrix below is a framework for planning campus policies and programs to address alcohol problems, including pregaming. The five levels of the social ecological model make up the first dimension: individual, group, institution, community, and society. The second dimension features key areas of strategic intervention: changing knowledge, attitudes, skills, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions; eliminating or modifying environmental factors that contribute to the problem; protecting students from negative drinking consequences (“health protection”); and intervening with problem drinkers.

The environmental change category includes five subgroups: offer and promote social, recreational, extracurricular, and public service options that do not include alcohol; create a social, academic, and residential environment that supports health-promoting norms; limit alcohol availability both on- and off-campus; restrict marketing and promotion of alcoholic beverages both on- and off-campus; and develop and enforce campus policies and local, state, and federal laws.

A campus and community coalition can categorize existing prevention efforts along these two dimensions and then use the matrix to generate additional ideas for an extensive, but integrated intervention. For example, at the institutional level, a college might limit alcohol availability by banning alcohol from its residence halls, in part to discourage pregaming. Similarly, at the group level, fraternities and sororities might limit drinking in A Framework for Campus and Community Prevention Efforts their chapter houses and at registered events held in Areas of Strategic commons areas. At both the ^Interventioninstitutional and community levels, law enforcement officials might increase enforcement of minor in possession (MIP) ordinances, especially prior to campus events. At the individual level, a student-oriented Web site or an online education program might emphasize the desirability of avoiding drinking games and pacing alcohol consumption to avoid severely elevated blood alcohol levels.

Program and Policy Levels
(Social Ecological Framework)
Individual Group Institution Community Society

Prevention Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills, Self-Efficacy, Behavioral Intentions Environmental Change

• Alcohol-Free Options

• Normative Environment

• Alcohol Availability

• Alcohol Marketing and Promotion

• Policy Development and Enforcement
Health Protection
Intervention and Treatment

Adapted from Zimmerman R, DeJong W. (2003). Safe Lanes on Campus: A Guide for Preventing Impaired Driving and Underage Drinking. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention.

Student surveys will most likely reveal that students overestimate how many of their peers are pregaming. A social norms marketing campaign, using campus-specific data to provide accurate normative data and thereby correct these misperceptions, may be a promising prevention strategy.

Health and counseling service staff should ask about pregaming when working with students. Since those who pregame tend to be the heavy alcohol users, Brief Alcohol Screening for College Students (BASICS) and other evidence-based early interventions could be modified to address pregaming issues.

Environmental Management Approaches Tighter policies and enforcement can also play a role. Campus officials should consider banning alcohol from residence halls, restricting the types or quantity of alcohol that students of legal age can keep in their rooms, banning paraphernalia (funnels, beer bongs) used for rapid alcohol intake, and prohibiting drinking games.

Likewise, fraternities and sororities, as well as other student groups that host parties or other social events, can consider similar rules as part of their risk management policies.

As noted, detecting pregaming is difficult. Experts have suggested having residence hall assistants increase monitoring during peak pregaming times and using passive breathalyzers to screen students before they enter campus functions to discourage pregaming. Local alcohol outlets can also screen patrons before granting admittance.

Finally, concerns about pregaming should also increase interest in broad environmental prevention measures that serve to suppress alcohol consumption generally, including restricting the density of alcohol retail outlets and increasing alcohol excise taxes on alcoholic beverages.

William DeJong is a professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Boston University School of Public Health. Beth DeRicco is associate director of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention (HEC) in Newton, Massachusetts.