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A Review of Alcohol Use Interventions on College Campuses and Sexual Assault Outcomes

  • Injury Epidemiology (S Marshall, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

To address whether and to what extent alcohol use interventions on college campuses are associated with reductions in sexual assault-related outcomes.

Recent Findings

Seven studies evaluating five interventions were included; all showed positive impacts in at least one study. Positive impacts were seen across various intervention approaches, including web-based and in-person approaches, those including individual and group activities, and using content addressing alcohol only or alcohol and sexual assault. Some studies included only heavy drinkers, while others included general populations of students. A widely used web-based alcohol use intervention was found to be effective in reducing sexual victimization in one study but not another. While all interventions showed positive impacts in at least one of the studies, little is understood about the pathways by which alcohol use interventions lead to reduced sexual assault.

Summary

Alcohol use is a risk factor for sexual assault, and considerable research shows high levels of both alcohol use and sexual assault on college campuses. Despite the widespread implementation of alcohol use interventions on college campuses, research on the effectiveness of alcohol use interventions on sexual assault is woefully inadequate to address two such important and complex problems. While there is reason to be optimistic about the potential for alcohol use interventions to reduce sexual assault on college campuses, much more research is needed to provide guidance on the most effective approaches for different types of college populations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Langan Denhard

  2. Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Patricia Mahoney & Andrea Gielen

  3. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Ellie Kim

Authors
  1. Langan Denhard
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  2. Patricia Mahoney
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  3. Ellie Kim
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  4. Andrea Gielen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Langan Denhard.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Injury Epidemiology

Appendix. Devising a Search Strategy

Appendix. Devising a Search Strategy

PubMed

The preliminary search terms were:

  • Universities[mesh] OR Universit*[tw] OR college*[tw]

  • Alcohol Drinking in College[mesh] OR College Drinking[mesh] OR college student drinking[mesh] or university student drinking[mesh] OR alcohol drinking[mesh] OR College Drinking[tw] OR college student drinking[tw] OR university student drinking[tw] OR alcohol drinking[tw]

  • Policy[mesh] OR Health Education[mesh] OR Primary Prevention[mesh] OR health educat*[tw] OR program*[tw] OR intervent*[tw] OR prevent*[tw]

When entered in PubMed, this search yielded 2647 results.

Additional terms specific to sexual assault were added to narrow the scope of the search around outcomes related to sexual violence.

  • College Drinking[mesh] OR college student drinking[mesh] or university student drinking[mesh] OR alcohol drinking[mesh] OR College Drinking[tw] OR college student drinking[tw] or university student drinking[tw] OR alcohol drinking[tw]

  • Policy[mesh] OR Health Education[mesh] OR Primary Prevention[mesh] OR health educat*[tw] OR program*[tw] OR intervent*[tw] or prevent*[tw]

  • Sex offense[mesh] OR sexual violence[mesh] OR sexual abuse[mesh] OR sexual assault*[tw] OR rape*[tw] OR sex offense*[tw]

  • Universities[mesh] OR Universit*[tw] OR college*[tw]

This search yielded 79 results.

The search terms used for PyscInfo and Scopus were derived from the PubMed search strategy, with database specific modifications.

PsycInfo

DE “Drinking Behavior” OR DE “Alcohol Drinking Patterns” OR “Alcohol Drinking”

DE “Sex Offenses” OR DE “Crime” OR DE “Sexual Abuse” OR DE “Sexual Harassment” OR “Sexual Assault”

DE “Colleges” OR DE “College Environment” OR DE “Higher Education” OR “Universities” OR “Colleges”

Yielded 76; 29 duplicates were removed when imported into Covidence.

Scopus Search

“College Drinking” OR “college student drinking” OR “university student drinking” OR “alcohol drinking” OR “alcohol use”

AND

Policy OR “Health Education” OR Prevention OR intervention

AND

“sexual assault*” OR rape* OR “sex offense*” OR “sexual violence”

AND

university OR universities OR college*

Yielded 126 results, 63 duplicates were identified in Covidence.

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Denhard, L., Mahoney, P., Kim, E. et al. A Review of Alcohol Use Interventions on College Campuses and Sexual Assault Outcomes. Curr Epidemiol Rep 7, 363–375 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40471-020-00253-2

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