Understanding why young adults consume alcohol the way they do can lead to more effective educational programming for promotion of students' personal health and safety. The authors examined the predictive role of expectations about alcohol, perceived peer norms of consumption, awareness of rules, and individual self-efficacy in conjunction with demographic variables for male and female college students' weekly alcohol consumption. The sample of 4,960 students analyzed here is 10 to 20 times larger and more nationally representative than the samples used in similar studies. The authors used a general linear model; 41% of the men's variance and 33% of the women's variance in self-reported weekly alcohol consumption were explained by the set of predictors. In descending order of variance accounted for in male and female students' self-reported weekly alcohol consumption, perceived gender-specific norms of consumption, expectations about the effects of alcohol, and the importance of drinking in high school were significant predictors for both men and women. The salience of psychological variables for young adults' consumption of alcohol underscores the importance of recognizing individual predictors of behavior in the broader ecological context in which those behaviors are performed.

This article summarizes the process of implementation and short-term impact on knowledge and attitudes of an interactive multimedia software program on preventive alcohol education for young adults. The three factors related to behavioral change addressed in the software are self-efficacy in maintaining personal control and safety while using alcohol, attitudes and related expectations regarding the physiological and behavioral consequences of alcohol consumption, and peer norms regarding alcohol consumption. As compared to alternative alcohol education and a no-alcohol education groups, students using the interactive computer lesson reported learning more about dose-response and ways to intervene with friends in peril. The article concludes with consideration of the import of this technology for informing students about the consequences of alcohol use, and the utility to higher education institutions of using this technology in an era when pressures increase for due diligence around student safety but with few additional institutional resources.

A self-selected sample of 4695 university and college students participated in a short-term evaluation of an interactive CD-ROM addressing harm reduction for alcohol use. The CD-ROM (Alcohol 101) uses a mix of video, text, music, graphics, and animation elements to present behavioral change strategies for safe and responsible use of alcohol. Student learning about alcohol as measured by self-report was generally in the desired direction and supportive of the impact of the CD-ROM on understanding of the physiological impact of alcohol and the range of behavioral options for pacing consumption and helping friends in potential peril.

Following an emergency medical transport for alcohol overdose, first-year college students were asked to complete a survey assessing their reactions to the transport experience, their assessment of why they required this emergency response, and plans for future personal alcohol consumption. Transported students who responded to a baseline survey of all first-year students regarding expectations about alcohol are compared to first-year students overall. The 50 first-year transported students did not perceive themselves at risk for alcohol overdose prior to the event and were typically not heavy consumers of alcohol. The majority attributed the overdose event to bad decision making. Most students planned to alter the amount and the pace of their future alcohol consumption. Additional education on the circumstances of alcohol overdose may help young adults learn their own limits for safe consumption.

Summarizes the results of an evaluation of an interactive multimedia program designed to inform young adults on the physical and behavioral consequences of excessive use of alcohol. The sample of 710 participating undergraduate students were referred to the university because of some violation of code of conduct regarding alcohol use. Of these, 610 students were assigned to use of an alcohol harm reduction computer program versus writing an essay on responsible drinking. Analysis of alcohol expectations found that the software users, as compared to the comparison group, reported significantly more changes in expectations about alcohol post‐intervention and intentions to change behavior towards greater safety and responsibility. Such an approach is potentially (in terms of resources) available on a campus for this type of educational programming and has the advantage of targeting students during a teachable moment introduced through a university sanction. Suggests that computer supported programs might evolve to be an effective method for health education.