Help Seeking for Alcohol Problems in a College Population

Abstract

Despite the availability of effective treatments for problem drinkers, only a minority seek professional assistance. The authors investigated the influences on help seeking for alcohol-related difficulties in two separate studies. In Study 1, 59 men and 74 women completed questionnaires regarding their alcohol use, related problems, readiness to change, and help-seeking interest. The authors also developed a measure of stigma related to alcohol help seeking. Problem recognition, anxiety symptoms, and stigma predicted a global rating of help-seeking. Students (22 men and 60 women) participated in Study 2, which incorporated a multi-item measure of help-seeking intentions as well as attitude and personality measures. Positive attitudes, less perceived stigma, and greater self-efficacy increased help seeking. The findings highlight the importance of both approach and avoidance factors that affect help-seeking decisions, and the authors suggest directions for further research.

A Text Message�Based Intervention Targeting Alcohol Consumption Among University Students: User Satisfaction and Acceptability Study (Preprint)

“…Previous research shows that only a minority of students seek advice and support from student health care, and our results strengthened the need to further develop new means of reaching students who drink excessively [20].…”

Baseline Characteristics of College Freshmen Enrolled in an Alcohol Intervention Program

“…Several factors have contributed to the ineffectiveness of these programs, including students ' denial of their problematic drinking behavior and a lack of willingness to change such risky behavior (Caldeira et al, 2009b;Gintner & Choate, 2003). Recent studies also have identifi ed the resistance of college students who engage in high-risk drinking to seek professional assistance (Caldeira et al, 2009b;Cellucci, Krogh, & Vik, 2006;Chiauzzi, Green, Lord, Thum, & Goldstein, 2005;Gintner & Choate, 2003).…”

Experiences of Slovak University students with on campus alcohol policy

“…More specifically, heavy drinkers, who are frequently targeted in prevention campaigns, are also often not eager to seek help because they do not consider their drinking behaviour problematic and, moreover, drinking is even seen as normal student behaviour (see Cellucci, Krogh, Vik 2006;Cho 2006;Wicki et al 2010). When heavy drinkers do seek help, they prefer low-threshold interventions such as computer-based interventions (Moore, Soderquist, Werch 2005).…”