Susan Esp, PhD, LCPC, faculty in the Department of Community and Environmental Health, authored a paper that is in press for the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. “A Randomized Trial Evaluating a Parent Based Intervention to Reduce Drinking” was written by Diana M. Doumas, PhD, Rob Turrisi, PhD, Anne E. Ray, PhD, Susan M. Esp, PhD, and Amy K. Curtis-Schaeffer, MA.
The study evaluated the effectiveness of a parent based intervention (PBI) in reducing drinking among first year college students. Students were assigned to one of three conditions: PBI, PBI plus booster brochures (PBI-B), and an assessment only control group. At a four-month post-intervention follow-up, results indicated students in the PBI-B group reported significantly less drinking to intoxication and peak drinking relative to the PBI group and control group. No significant differences were found between the PBI group and control group. Results provide further support for PBIs to reduce college student drinking and suggest that a booster brochure increases the effectiveness of PBIs.