Evaluating Behavior Change and Environment Change

Impact Evaluation
Campus-based prevention of alcohol abuse has typically involved the use of educational and counseling programs to influence the knowledge and beliefs of student drinkers. However, environmental influences on college campuses and in their surrounding communities also contribute to alcohol abuse among students. These include both "supply-side" and "demand-side" factors:

Elements of the Campus & Community Environment Which Influence Student Drinking Behaviors

Community-based environmental influences parallel those on campus.

The supply-side factors in this approach are important additions to a "knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs" model. Their inclusion reflects findings about:

• The elasticity of demand for alcohol among young adults.
• The positive association between bar density, bar location, and binge drinking.
• The protective effects of policy.
• The influence of alcohol polices on high-risk drinking.
• The conditions in which prevention programs operate.

We use three resources for evaluating changes in both supply-side and demand-side environmental influences: Time Series Surveillance, Qualitative Data, and Policy Data.

Key research questions include:

• What are the policy controls on alcohol sale and consumption?
• What are the perceived social controls on drinking?
• How available is alcohol to students?
• What are the inducements to drink frequently and heavily?
• Which groups do AMOD interventions reach?