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. 2013;61(6):324-34.
doi: 10.1080/07448481.2013.788008.

The slope of change: an environmental management approach to reduce drinking on a day of celebration at a US college

Timothy C Marchell  1 , Deborah D Lewis, Katherine Croom, Martin L Lesser, Susan H Murphy, Valerie F Reyna, Jeremy Frank, Lisa Staiano-Coico
Affiliations

The slope of change: an environmental management approach to reduce drinking on a day of celebration at a US college

Timothy C Marchell et al. J Am Coll Health. 2013.

Abstract

Objective: This research extends the literature on event-specific environmental management with a case study evaluation of an intervention designed to reduce student drinking at a university's year-end celebration.

Participants: Cornell University undergraduates were surveyed each May from 2001 through 2009. Sample sizes ranged from 322 to 1,973.

Methods: Randomly sampled surveys were conducted after a large, annual spring campus celebration. An environmental management plan was initiated in 2003 that included increased enforcement of the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) law.

Results: In the short term, drinking at the campus celebration decreased while drinking before the event increased. Over time, the intervention significantly reduced high-risk drinking on the day of the event, especially among those under the age of 21.

Conclusion: These findings are contrary to the argument that enforcement of MLDA laws simply leads to increased high-risk drinking, and therefore have implications for how colleges approach the challenge of student alcohol misuse.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trend in pre-event and at event drinking on Slope Day
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trend in pre-event and at event drinking on Slope Day by legal drinking status
Figure 3
Figure 3
: Risky alcohol consumption behaviors on Slope Day
Figure 4
Figure 4
Risky alcohol consumption behaviors on Slope Day by legal drinking status
Figure 5
Figure 5
Average number of drinks consumed among drinkers on Slope Day
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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