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Journal of American College Health Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vach20
From Data to Program Decisions: Developing a Student Assistance Program John M. Cavendish EdD
a
a
Community Health Education Program , West Virginia State University in Morgantown , USA Published online: 09 Jul 2010.
To cite this article: John M. Cavendish EdD (1991) From Data to Program Decisions: Developing a Student Assistance Program, Journal of American College Health, 39:4, 191-193, DOI: 10.1080/07448481.1991.9936233 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07448481.1991.9936233
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
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From Data to Program Decisions: Developing a Student Assistance Program JOHN M. CAVENDISH, EdD
In 1979, West Virginia University authorities formed an ad hoc committee on alcohol to examine the question of whether beer should be allowed in residence halls. Results of the survey, which was constructed and administered under the auspices of the committee, indicated two things. First, the overwhelming majority of students living in the residence halls favored being able to drink “legally” in their rooms and at residence hall snack bars; second, students were experiencing substantial problems related to alcohol. Subsequently, the university established a policy that permitted beer in residence halls; the policy remained in effect until West Virginia adopted a 21-year-old legal drinking age in 1986. Not a great deal was done about the ad hoc committee’s second finding, ie, that students were experiencing substantial problems related to alcohol. In 1981, largely at the urging of some of the committee members, a University Committee on Alcohol was formed. It was at the behest of this university committee that we undertook the present study and established a permanent student alcohol database, which was expanded in 1985 to include other drugs. During the 1981/82 academic year, a research sub committee of this university committee was formed, and I was asked to serve as its chair. We were charged with developing a database that took into account drinking practices and resultant problems of our student population. Specifically, we were asked to focus on the freshman population. At the time, the university was being subjected to bad press reports as an alleged ____
~ _ _ _ _
JohnM. Cavendish is an assistant professor and coordinator of the Community Health Education Program at West Virginia State University in Morgantown.
VOL 39, )ANUARY 7991
“party” schoa This, of course, had the potential to create public relations problems with parents of freshman recruits. A second, and perhaps more important, reason we were asked to focus on freshmen was that the vast majority (80%) lived in university residence halls; if our research showed a need for programming, the freshmen were an ideal captive audience. This was particularly attractive from the university‘s standpoint because an average of 25% of the freshman class were lost through attrition before the beginning of their sophomore year. From the inception of the study through its third year, the research subcommittee of the University Committee on Alcohol found no scarcity of literature on college drinking. From the pioneering works of Straus and Bacon to the modernday works of Engs, Hanson, and many others, we found applicable research on virtually every aspect of college students’ drinking experiences.’-’’ In spite of the vast amount of literature we examined, we found little information on the areas of greatest interest to us, namely: What changes in drinking patterns occur during a student’s first year in college? How can alcohol-use data from college students be “sold” to the university administration to justify and help shape prevention and intervention programs?What is the role of research in program development and management once it has been decided to establish a program?
METHOD The initial study population included 8,926 freshmen entering West Virginia University during the 3-year period from 1982 to 1985. Incoming freshmen were randomly sampled during the 1982/83, 1983/84, and 1984 85 summer orientation programs, yielding a sample
191
Downloaded by [University of Toronto Libraries] at 07:23 07 March 2015
CO1LEC;E HEALTH population of 1,017 students. They represented 11.4% of the student population. Second-semester freshmen were randomly sampled at residence halls during April 1983, 1984, and 1985. We distributed 300 questionnaires at each sampling time. Students returned 601 questionnaires, a response of 66% for second-semester freshmen, representing 6.7% of the population. Demographic characteristics of the incoming and second-semester samples were analyzed against total population demographics for their respective semesters, and no statistically significant differences were found between the samples and the general population. An expert panel developed and validated a Student Alcohol-Use Survey to collect data relative to drinking patterns, indicators of abuse, and individual percep tions of the degree of severity of alcohol problems. The survey instrument contained three sections. The first section was designed to elicit information on specific drinking parameters (ie, quantity, frequency, reasons for drinking, etc). The second section, a shortened version of the Drug-Use Consequences Checklist,” was a 25-item questionnaire designed to assess drinking patterns. The split-half reliability of this scale was calculated during each administration and ranged from .76 to .89. Scores on this section could be taken as some measure of the degree to which subjects perceived that drinking was a problem for their friends and the degree to which they perceived it was a problem for themselves. These were single-item scores with perceived problem rated along a 10-point continuum. The final section was designed to elicit selected demographic information.
RESULTS The students’ perceptions of their drinking level, ie, abstinent, infrequent, light, moderate, or heavy, significantly increased, x” = 23.218, p < .005, during the course of the freshman year. Lending credence to the notion that this perceptual shift was reality-based rather than norm-referenced was the finding that the average quantity of alcohol consumed per occasion also rose significantly, x” = 15.694, p < .005. The abstention rate dropped slightly, from 11o/o to 8%, but this difference was not statistically significant. Results of this study indicated a decrease in what might be called “controlled” drinking. A significantly higher percentage of students surveyed during their second semester reported being drunk the week before the survey, x’ = 19.131, p < .001. There was also a significant increase in students who reported that they drank more than they intended or wanted to drink on drinking occasions, x2 = 44.990, p < .0001. Students were asked to indicate their reasons for drinking alcohol. The survey checklist included the following reasons: to be sociable, to relieve tension or fatigue, to enjoy the taste, to forget your problems, to relax and have fun, to make you more assertive, to cele-
192
brate special occasions, to cheer up when you are down, to get high or drunk, to feel more at ease on dates, because your friends encouraged you, because you were lonely or bored. All reasons except “to feel more at ease on dates” were reported to a significantly greater degree by the second-semester sample. We assessed 25 indicators of alcohol abuse. There were significant changes in 7 of these indicators during the freshman year. In 6 of the 7 instances, second-semester freshmen showed greater involvement: ”missed classes due to drinking,“ “difficulty in stopping after one or two drinks,” “unable to stop drinking when desired,” “neglected obligations,” “sustained an injury,” and ”uncomfortable without alcohol in social setting” (all at p < .02). The seventh indicator, “tried to conceal drinking,” occurred less frequently in the secondsemester sample @ < .005). There were no significant differences in the extent to which students perceived that they had a problem with alcohol. In the incoming sample, 289 subjects (38%) rated themselves as having some degree of problem with alcohol, compared with 193 (41%) of the secondsemester sample.
DISCUSSION The results of this study suggested that drinking practices were already established when some students entered the university. Indicators of alcohol abuse after arrival at college showed a significant increase. The reason for this seems obvious-if one has the propensity to abuse alcohol, the collegiate setting provides an environment that does not discourage continued abuse. The implication is that changing the environment, using prevention and early intervention techniques, is a p propriate for first-semester freshmen. The University Committee on Alcohol immediately endorsed this concept and began training resident assistants and conducting other educational programs throughout the year. In spite of what we found, it took the committee 3 years to “sell” the university administration on the need for a formal student assistance program with a full-time staff. In 1985, a program to address the abuse of alcohol and other drugs on campus began.’* Our committee’s research findings played a major part in supporting this decision, particularly when the findings were coupled with reports of alcohol-related injuries and other alcohol- and drug-related problems of students who came to the health service for treatment. Our Student Assistance Program, as well as a complement of supporting educational programs, was developed during the summer of 1985 and officially opened for the fall semester. To date, the program has grown from an initial budget of approximately $20,000 per year to nearly (b60,OOO per year. The full-time program staff has grown from one person who, in addition to conducting educational programs for students, faculty, and staff, did assess-
jACH
Downloaded by [University of Toronto Libraries] at 07:23 07 March 2015
STUDENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ment, individual and group treatment, referral, and evaluation, to two full-time staff, a graduate assistant, and a number of student interns. The database that was established in 1982 and expanded throughout the past 8 years to include the entire student population and drugs other than alcohol continues to be important to the growth of the program. It has been used extensively in designing a paper-and-pencil instrument to assess alcohol and drug use that is tailored to our student population. This test is a vast improvement over many of the instruments in current use that were developed using norms from a primarily male adult alcoholic population. In addition, the database has provided a yardstick by which to compare students referred to the Student Assistance Program with the general student population in terms of alcohol and other drug use. Finally, it has provided a wealth of information to meet the needs of the statewide university community. This is particularly evident when a sensational incident related to student drug use hits the front page and data can be generated instantly to provide a factual context and to rebut assertions of a “drug epidemic.” We have learned that perseverance in establishing a database yields a very high cost-benefit ratio. We spent about $100 a year on our study before the inception of the Student Assistance Program. When compared with the $W,OO@a-year current budget, the $300 we spent from 1982 to 1985 has a cost-benefit ratio of 200 to 1. Thus, today we are getting an annual return of approximately 200 program dollars to every one dollar we invested in establishing the database. The database has aIso provided needs assessment data for successful grant applications. This should provide a fairly substan-
tial incentive for institutions with scarce resources because of the increasingly large pool of grant money available to support collegiate assistance programs in the start-up phase.
REFERENCES 1. Straus RS, Bacon SD. Drinking in College. New Haven: Yale University Press; 1953. 2. Cusfield JR.The structural context of college drinking. I Studies on Alcohol. 1 %1;22:428-443. 3. Hanson D. Trends in drinking attitudes and behaviors among college students. I Alcohol. 1974;19:6-14. 4. Engs RC. Drinking patterns and drinking problems of college students. I Studies on Alcohol. 1977;382144-2156. 5. Hanson DJ.Trends in drinking attitudes and behaviors among college students. I Alcohol and Drug Education. 1 9 n 22:17-22. 6. Wechsler H, McFadden M. Drinking among college students in New England: Extent, sacial correlates, and consequences of alcohol use. I Studies on Alcohol. 1979;40:%9996. 7. Biber SH, Haskway RN, Annick JR. Drinking patterns of male and female collegians: Are the patterns converging? I Coll Stud Personnel. 1980;21:349-353. 8. LeMay M. College disciplinary referrals for drinking. I Studies on Alcohol. 1968;29:939-942. 9. Looney MA. Alcohol use survey on campus: Implications for health education. 1 Amer Coll Health Association.
1976;25:109-112. 10. Strange CC, Schmitt MR. College student perceptions of
alcohol use and differential drinking behavior. I Coll Stud Personnel. 1979;2073-79. 11. Cavendish JM. The Development of a Drug-UseConsequences Checklist for a College Population. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms International, 1983. 12. Morgan EJ, Cavendish JM. Medical, ethical, and legal issues in treating college student substance abusers. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. Winter 1988;141-149.
Appointment Scheduling a Problem? Use PRACTICE PARTNERTMAppointment Scheduler Software in use by student health clinics flexible, easy to use customized daily schedules for each physician holds slots, double booking, blocking out coordinates appointments with rooms and equipment
intelligent appointment search feature find existing appointments automated appointment reminders schedule analysis and forecasts runson IBM AT’S,PS/2’s, and compatibles multi-user versions available
Demonstration versions available. Call (206) 441-8490 for more information. Physician Micro Systems, Inc.
# VOL 39, jANUARY 7991
2033 6th Avenue, Suite 707 Seattle, W 98121 (206)441-8490
193
Journal of American College Health Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vach20
From Data to Program Decisions: Developing a Student Assistance Program John M. Cavendish EdD
a
a
Community Health Education Program , West Virginia State University in Morgantown , USA Published online: 09 Jul 2010.
To cite this article: John M. Cavendish EdD (1991) From Data to Program Decisions: Developing a Student Assistance Program, Journal of American College Health, 39:4, 191-193, DOI: 10.1080/07448481.1991.9936233 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07448481.1991.9936233
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
Downloaded by [University of Toronto Libraries] at 07:23 07 March 2015
From Data to Program Decisions: Developing a Student Assistance Program JOHN M. CAVENDISH, EdD
In 1979, West Virginia University authorities formed an ad hoc committee on alcohol to examine the question of whether beer should be allowed in residence halls. Results of the survey, which was constructed and administered under the auspices of the committee, indicated two things. First, the overwhelming majority of students living in the residence halls favored being able to drink “legally” in their rooms and at residence hall snack bars; second, students were experiencing substantial problems related to alcohol. Subsequently, the university established a policy that permitted beer in residence halls; the policy remained in effect until West Virginia adopted a 21-year-old legal drinking age in 1986. Not a great deal was done about the ad hoc committee’s second finding, ie, that students were experiencing substantial problems related to alcohol. In 1981, largely at the urging of some of the committee members, a University Committee on Alcohol was formed. It was at the behest of this university committee that we undertook the present study and established a permanent student alcohol database, which was expanded in 1985 to include other drugs. During the 1981/82 academic year, a research sub committee of this university committee was formed, and I was asked to serve as its chair. We were charged with developing a database that took into account drinking practices and resultant problems of our student population. Specifically, we were asked to focus on the freshman population. At the time, the university was being subjected to bad press reports as an alleged ____
~ _ _ _ _
JohnM. Cavendish is an assistant professor and coordinator of the Community Health Education Program at West Virginia State University in Morgantown.
VOL 39, )ANUARY 7991
“party” schoa This, of course, had the potential to create public relations problems with parents of freshman recruits. A second, and perhaps more important, reason we were asked to focus on freshmen was that the vast majority (80%) lived in university residence halls; if our research showed a need for programming, the freshmen were an ideal captive audience. This was particularly attractive from the university‘s standpoint because an average of 25% of the freshman class were lost through attrition before the beginning of their sophomore year. From the inception of the study through its third year, the research subcommittee of the University Committee on Alcohol found no scarcity of literature on college drinking. From the pioneering works of Straus and Bacon to the modernday works of Engs, Hanson, and many others, we found applicable research on virtually every aspect of college students’ drinking experiences.’-’’ In spite of the vast amount of literature we examined, we found little information on the areas of greatest interest to us, namely: What changes in drinking patterns occur during a student’s first year in college? How can alcohol-use data from college students be “sold” to the university administration to justify and help shape prevention and intervention programs?What is the role of research in program development and management once it has been decided to establish a program?
METHOD The initial study population included 8,926 freshmen entering West Virginia University during the 3-year period from 1982 to 1985. Incoming freshmen were randomly sampled during the 1982/83, 1983/84, and 1984 85 summer orientation programs, yielding a sample
191
Downloaded by [University of Toronto Libraries] at 07:23 07 March 2015
CO1LEC;E HEALTH population of 1,017 students. They represented 11.4% of the student population. Second-semester freshmen were randomly sampled at residence halls during April 1983, 1984, and 1985. We distributed 300 questionnaires at each sampling time. Students returned 601 questionnaires, a response of 66% for second-semester freshmen, representing 6.7% of the population. Demographic characteristics of the incoming and second-semester samples were analyzed against total population demographics for their respective semesters, and no statistically significant differences were found between the samples and the general population. An expert panel developed and validated a Student Alcohol-Use Survey to collect data relative to drinking patterns, indicators of abuse, and individual percep tions of the degree of severity of alcohol problems. The survey instrument contained three sections. The first section was designed to elicit information on specific drinking parameters (ie, quantity, frequency, reasons for drinking, etc). The second section, a shortened version of the Drug-Use Consequences Checklist,” was a 25-item questionnaire designed to assess drinking patterns. The split-half reliability of this scale was calculated during each administration and ranged from .76 to .89. Scores on this section could be taken as some measure of the degree to which subjects perceived that drinking was a problem for their friends and the degree to which they perceived it was a problem for themselves. These were single-item scores with perceived problem rated along a 10-point continuum. The final section was designed to elicit selected demographic information.
RESULTS The students’ perceptions of their drinking level, ie, abstinent, infrequent, light, moderate, or heavy, significantly increased, x” = 23.218, p < .005, during the course of the freshman year. Lending credence to the notion that this perceptual shift was reality-based rather than norm-referenced was the finding that the average quantity of alcohol consumed per occasion also rose significantly, x” = 15.694, p < .005. The abstention rate dropped slightly, from 11o/o to 8%, but this difference was not statistically significant. Results of this study indicated a decrease in what might be called “controlled” drinking. A significantly higher percentage of students surveyed during their second semester reported being drunk the week before the survey, x’ = 19.131, p < .001. There was also a significant increase in students who reported that they drank more than they intended or wanted to drink on drinking occasions, x2 = 44.990, p < .0001. Students were asked to indicate their reasons for drinking alcohol. The survey checklist included the following reasons: to be sociable, to relieve tension or fatigue, to enjoy the taste, to forget your problems, to relax and have fun, to make you more assertive, to cele-
192
brate special occasions, to cheer up when you are down, to get high or drunk, to feel more at ease on dates, because your friends encouraged you, because you were lonely or bored. All reasons except “to feel more at ease on dates” were reported to a significantly greater degree by the second-semester sample. We assessed 25 indicators of alcohol abuse. There were significant changes in 7 of these indicators during the freshman year. In 6 of the 7 instances, second-semester freshmen showed greater involvement: ”missed classes due to drinking,“ “difficulty in stopping after one or two drinks,” “unable to stop drinking when desired,” “neglected obligations,” “sustained an injury,” and ”uncomfortable without alcohol in social setting” (all at p < .02). The seventh indicator, “tried to conceal drinking,” occurred less frequently in the secondsemester sample @ < .005). There were no significant differences in the extent to which students perceived that they had a problem with alcohol. In the incoming sample, 289 subjects (38%) rated themselves as having some degree of problem with alcohol, compared with 193 (41%) of the secondsemester sample.
DISCUSSION The results of this study suggested that drinking practices were already established when some students entered the university. Indicators of alcohol abuse after arrival at college showed a significant increase. The reason for this seems obvious-if one has the propensity to abuse alcohol, the collegiate setting provides an environment that does not discourage continued abuse. The implication is that changing the environment, using prevention and early intervention techniques, is a p propriate for first-semester freshmen. The University Committee on Alcohol immediately endorsed this concept and began training resident assistants and conducting other educational programs throughout the year. In spite of what we found, it took the committee 3 years to “sell” the university administration on the need for a formal student assistance program with a full-time staff. In 1985, a program to address the abuse of alcohol and other drugs on campus began.’* Our committee’s research findings played a major part in supporting this decision, particularly when the findings were coupled with reports of alcohol-related injuries and other alcohol- and drug-related problems of students who came to the health service for treatment. Our Student Assistance Program, as well as a complement of supporting educational programs, was developed during the summer of 1985 and officially opened for the fall semester. To date, the program has grown from an initial budget of approximately $20,000 per year to nearly (b60,OOO per year. The full-time program staff has grown from one person who, in addition to conducting educational programs for students, faculty, and staff, did assess-
jACH
Downloaded by [University of Toronto Libraries] at 07:23 07 March 2015
STUDENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ment, individual and group treatment, referral, and evaluation, to two full-time staff, a graduate assistant, and a number of student interns. The database that was established in 1982 and expanded throughout the past 8 years to include the entire student population and drugs other than alcohol continues to be important to the growth of the program. It has been used extensively in designing a paper-and-pencil instrument to assess alcohol and drug use that is tailored to our student population. This test is a vast improvement over many of the instruments in current use that were developed using norms from a primarily male adult alcoholic population. In addition, the database has provided a yardstick by which to compare students referred to the Student Assistance Program with the general student population in terms of alcohol and other drug use. Finally, it has provided a wealth of information to meet the needs of the statewide university community. This is particularly evident when a sensational incident related to student drug use hits the front page and data can be generated instantly to provide a factual context and to rebut assertions of a “drug epidemic.” We have learned that perseverance in establishing a database yields a very high cost-benefit ratio. We spent about $100 a year on our study before the inception of the Student Assistance Program. When compared with the $W,OO@a-year current budget, the $300 we spent from 1982 to 1985 has a cost-benefit ratio of 200 to 1. Thus, today we are getting an annual return of approximately 200 program dollars to every one dollar we invested in establishing the database. The database has aIso provided needs assessment data for successful grant applications. This should provide a fairly substan-
tial incentive for institutions with scarce resources because of the increasingly large pool of grant money available to support collegiate assistance programs in the start-up phase.
REFERENCES 1. Straus RS, Bacon SD. Drinking in College. New Haven: Yale University Press; 1953. 2. Cusfield JR.The structural context of college drinking. I Studies on Alcohol. 1 %1;22:428-443. 3. Hanson D. Trends in drinking attitudes and behaviors among college students. I Alcohol. 1974;19:6-14. 4. Engs RC. Drinking patterns and drinking problems of college students. I Studies on Alcohol. 1977;382144-2156. 5. Hanson DJ.Trends in drinking attitudes and behaviors among college students. I Alcohol and Drug Education. 1 9 n 22:17-22. 6. Wechsler H, McFadden M. Drinking among college students in New England: Extent, sacial correlates, and consequences of alcohol use. I Studies on Alcohol. 1979;40:%9996. 7. Biber SH, Haskway RN, Annick JR. Drinking patterns of male and female collegians: Are the patterns converging? I Coll Stud Personnel. 1980;21:349-353. 8. LeMay M. College disciplinary referrals for drinking. I Studies on Alcohol. 1968;29:939-942. 9. Looney MA. Alcohol use survey on campus: Implications for health education. 1 Amer Coll Health Association.
1976;25:109-112. 10. Strange CC, Schmitt MR. College student perceptions of
alcohol use and differential drinking behavior. I Coll Stud Personnel. 1979;2073-79. 11. Cavendish JM. The Development of a Drug-UseConsequences Checklist for a College Population. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms International, 1983. 12. Morgan EJ, Cavendish JM. Medical, ethical, and legal issues in treating college student substance abusers. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. Winter 1988;141-149.
Appointment Scheduling a Problem? Use PRACTICE PARTNERTMAppointment Scheduler Software in use by student health clinics flexible, easy to use customized daily schedules for each physician holds slots, double booking, blocking out coordinates appointments with rooms and equipment
intelligent appointment search feature find existing appointments automated appointment reminders schedule analysis and forecasts runson IBM AT’S,PS/2’s, and compatibles multi-user versions available
Demonstration versions available. Call (206) 441-8490 for more information. Physician Micro Systems, Inc.
# VOL 39, jANUARY 7991
2033 6th Avenue, Suite 707 Seattle, W 98121 (206)441-8490
193
