Supporting Behavioral Health in Rural Idaho

Multiple factors affect the health of individuals and communities. Current determinants of health addressed by the World Health Organization’s 2020 goals include social factors, physical environments, policymaking, and individual behaviors. Behavioral health, defined here as including both substance use disorders (including alcohol) and mental health disorders, is an additional determinant of physical health that is often disregarded or minimized by current health determinant models. According to L.G. Gamm, S. Stone, and S. Pittman, behavioral health disorders affect approximately half of the population in the United States over a lifetime and are among the most impairing of chronic diseases

Parental Consent Procedures: Impact on Response Rates and Nonresponse Bias

This study examined the impact of passive versus active parental consent procedures on response rates and nonresponse bias when recruiting 9th grade students for a school-based alcohol intervention. Results indicated a significant difference in response rates when using passive parental consent procedures (91.8%) compared to active parental consent procedures (30.4%). Additionally, students recruited with active parental consent procedures reported lower rates of alcohol use and lower levels of alcohol-related consequences than those recruited with passive parental consent procedures. There were no differences in demographic variables between the two groups. Findings indicate active parental consent procedures may result in an underrepresentation of students reporting alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences, compromising the generalizability of findings in school-based alcohol intervention research. We suggest researchers incorporate strategies shown to increase response rates when using active parental consent procedures to minimize nonresponse bias

Heavy Episodic Drinking and Alcohol-Related Consequences: Sex-Specific Differences in Parental Influences Among Ninth-Grade Students

Parents impact adolescent substance abuse, but sex-specific influences are not well-understood. This study examined parental influences on adolescent drinking behavior in a sample of ninth-grade students (N = 473). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated parental monitoring, disapproval of teen alcohol use, and quality of parent-teen general communication were significant predictors of drinking behaviors. Sex, however, moderated these relationships. Specifically, parental monitoring was protective of heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related consequences for females, whereas parental disapproval of teen alcohol was protective of heavy episodic drinking for males. Implications for sex-specific parent-based intervention programs are discussed

The Impact of Brief Intervention Workshops on Addiction Provider Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes Toward Evidence-Based Practices

This study evaluated the impact of Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) workshops on post-training knowledge, skills, negative attitudes, and interest in implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs). Participants (N = 70) were primarily mental health counselor (41.4%), social workers (20.0%), substance abuse counselors (15.7%), school counselors (5.7%) and nursing professionals (4.3%) who selected the one or two day workshop for continuing education credit. Participants attended either a Basic MI training workshop (one day) or a Basic MI training plus an Advanced MI/SBIRT training workshop (two day) to assess if exposure to two EBPs would improve training outcomes. Participants in both the one day and two day workshops reported posttraining increased perceived knowledge and skills, decreased negative attitudes toward EBPs, and increased interest in implementing EBPs from pre-training to post-training. There were no differences between participants in the Basic MI or MI plus Advanced MI/SBIRT training conditions. Implications for reducing the research-practice gap in EBPs are discussed

Reducing Alcohol Use Among 9th Grade Students: 6 Month Outcomes of a Brief, Web-Based Intervention

This study tested a brief, web-based personalized feedback program aimed at reducing alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences among 9th grade students (N = 513). Results indicated no differences between the control group and intervention group on either frequency of drinking or alcohol-related consequences at the 6-month follow-up. Reductions in alcohol use and the associated consequences found at the 3-month follow-up were not sustained across the academic year. Results indicate brief, web-based feedback programs may not be sufficient to provide a sustained impact on alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences over time, suggesting either booster sessions or adjunctive interventions, such as parent-based interventions, may be warranted for this age group

A Randomized Controlled Trial of the eCHECKUP to GO for High School Seniors Across the Academic Year

Background: Among high school students, seniors report the highest levels of alcohol use and hazardous drinking. Technology-based interventions are a promising approach for reducing alcohol use among this age group. Objectives: This randomized controlled trial investigated the efficacy of the eCHECKUP TO GO, an online personalized feedback intervention, on reducing alcohol use among high school seniors across the academic year (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03613818). Drinker risk status, with students classified as high- or low-risk drinkers based on baseline reports binge drinking, was examined as a moderator of intervention effects. Method: Participants (N = 311) were recruited from two high schools. Class periods were randomized to the intervention condition or an assessment-only control condition. Participants completed online surveys at baseline, 30-day, and 6-month assessments. Results: Intervention effects were moderated by drinker risk status. Among high-risk drinkers, those in the intervention condition reported a significant reduction in weekly drinking quantity and estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) at the 30-day follow-up relative to students in the control condition. By 6 months, reductions in alcohol outcomes among high-risk students in the intervention condition were sustained, but high-risk students in the control condition also reported reductions in weekly drinking. In contrast, for eBAC, intervention effects were significantly greater among students in the intervention condition relative to the control condition at 6 months. Conclusions: Results support the efficacy of the eCHECKUP TO GO for decreasing short-term alcohol use among seniors who are high-risk drinkers and provide preliminary evidence that reductions are sustained across the academic year

Parental Predictors of Adolescent Alcohol Use and Alcohol-Related Consequences

This study examined parental factors as predictors of alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences among 9th grade students (N = 296). Perception of parental disapproval of teen drinking and perceived quality of parent-child general communication were significant predictors of adolescent alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences. Implications for parent education are discussed

A Randomized Controlled Trial Testing the Efficacy of a Brief Online Alcohol Intervention for High School Seniors

Objective: The purpose of this randomized controlled study was to examine the efficacy of a brief, web-based personalized feedback intervention (the eCHECKUP TO GO) on alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences among high school seniors. Method: Participants (N = 221) were high school seniors randomized by class period to either a brief, web-based personalized feedback intervention (the eCHECKUP TO GO) or an assessment-only control group. Participants completed online surveys at baseline and at a 6-week follow-up. Results: Students participating in the eCHECKUP TO GO intervention reported a significant reduction in weekly drinking quantity, peak drinking quantity, and frequency of drinking to intoxication relative to those in the control group. Intervention effects were moderated by high-risk status (one or more episodes of heavy episodic drinking in the past 2 weeks reported at baseline) such that intervention effects were significant for high-risk students only. Results for alcohol-related consequences were not significant. Conclusions: Providing a brief, web-based personalized feedback intervention in the school setting is a promising approach for reducing problem alcohol use among high school seniors who report recent heavy episodic drinking

A Test of the Efficacy of a Brief, Web-Based Personalized Feedback Intervention to Reduce Drinking Among 9th Grade Students

Alcohol use increases substantially during the transition from middle school to high school. This study tested a brief, web-based personalized feedback program aimed at reducing risk factors for drinking, alcohol use, and alcohol-related consequences among 9th grade students. At a 3-month follow-up, students in the intervention group showed positive results relative to those in the control group on variables associated with reduced risk, including positive alcohol expectancies and positive beliefs about alcohol. Students in the intervention group also reported a reduction in drinking frequency and alcohol-related consequences relative to those in the control group. There were, however, no differences in normative beliefs regarding peer drinking or quantity of weekly drinking between the two groups. Results indicate that a brief, web-based personalized normative feedback program delivered in the school setting is a promising approach to reducing alcohol use and the associated consequences among 9th grade students

Age of Drinking Initiation as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Sensation Seeking and Heavy Drinking Among High School Seniors

Sensation seeking has been identified as a significant risk factor for adolescent alcohol use. Little is known, however, about the process by which sensation seeking impacts heavy alcohol use. The current study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationships among sensation seeking, age of drinking initiation, and heavy alcohol use in a sample of high school seniors (N = 221). Results supporting age of drinking initiation as a mediator of the relationship between sensation seeking and heavy alcohol use. Implications include providing personality-targeted prevention to adolescents who display sensation seeking traits to delay drinking initiation among these students