Qualitatively Assessing the Experiences of College Students Completing AlcoholEdu: Do Participants Report Altering Behavior After Intervention?

Abstract

To reduce college student drinking and associated alcohol-related consequences, many universities are turning to e-interventions, such as AlcoholEdu. To date, however, results of evaluations examining the impact of AlcoholEdu are mixed. Among these evaluations, few qualitative assessments have examined the experiences and perceptions of students who complete AlcoholEdu. This investigation aimed to assess whether students (a) find the program educational and engaging, (b) implemented specific strategies learned from participation, and (c) self-report altering their behavior as a result of participation. Even though respondents universally reported an increase in alcohol-related knowledge, there was an evident disconnect between this knowledge and their actual behavior. In other words, respondents reported that they did not implement what was taught in AlcoholEdu. Moreover, students highlighted several limitations associated with the program that would have influenced its overall impact, such as ignoring video segments of the program and clicking through assessments simply to complete the task. If used, college administrators and health professionals should implement e-interventions such as AlcoholEdu as one component of a multifaceted approach rather than a panacea for the current high-risk drinking practices of college students.

Students’ Perceptions on the Effectiveness of a Computer-Delivered Alcohol Intervention

“…Expanding on the work of Nygaard and Paschall (2012) and Barry et al (2016), this study explored how personal, environmental, and behavioral factors influenced students' views of the effectiveness of a CDI, specifically AlcoholEdu. Comparable findings were that (a) students reported gaining valuable information from AlcoholEdu regarding alcohol content and the standard size of drinks; (b) participants across studies voiced a lack of authenticity and connection to the videos included in AlcoholEdu; and (c) students consistently voiced frustration about the length and repetition of the content, which led participants to ignore or skip content as they completed the CDI.…”

“…Participants signed an informed consent form agreeing to participate in the focus group and to be audiotaped prior to beginning each session. A semi structured interview guide was developed from previous research by Nygaard and Paschall (2012) and Barry et al (2016); it focused on students who completed AlcoholEdu. The interview guide was further refined based on previous work by Taylor (2019).…”

“…In addition, many CDIs are user-driven which may be perceived as less threatening by students (Carey et al, 2011). Previous interviews with college freshman reported that AlcoholEdu provides a large amount of relevant information, while at the same time, students felt the CDI was long and could be redundant (Barry et al, 2016; Nygaard & Paschall, 2012).…”

Improving Undergraduate Students’ Responses to Bereaved Peers: An Innovative Online Intervention

“…To date, online interventions have been effective in educating college students about a variety of salient topics. For example, AlcoholEdu, a widely used online course for undergraduates, yielded a consistent increase in alcohol-related knowledge (Barry et al, 2016). Also, an online intervention focused on dating violence and bystander interventions improved knowledge and self-efficacy immediately and a month after the intervention (O’Brien et al, 2021).…”