Intervention Summary
STEPS Comprehensive Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention Program
The STEPS Comprehensive Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention Program, developed for college students, aims to reduce alcohol use frequency and quantity as well as the negative consequences associated with alcohol use. Based on the Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) model, reviewed by NREPP separately, the three versions of STEPS are designed to meet the distinct and complex needs of three groups of college students engaging in high-risk drinking: first-year students (Project First STEPS), students seeking primary health and mental health care on campus (Project Healthy STEPS), and student athletes (Project Winning STEPS). The versions reviewed for this summary were Project First STEPS and Project Healthy STEPS.
All versions of STEPS begin with screening students in the target population using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). First-year students complete an online screening during the first month of college, and student athletes complete an online screening after a team meeting held in a campus computer lab. Students seeking primary health and mental health care on campus complete a "paper-and-pencil" screening as part of the intake process.
Students in these groups with an AUDIT score suggesting high-risk alcohol use are invited to complete baseline questionnaires and participate in an in-person, one-on-one brief intervention. The baseline questionnaires identify risk behaviors and beliefs involving alcohol consumption, including the perceived drinking behavior of peers. After completing the questionnaires, each student receives a personalized feedback profile that details his or her own drinking patterns and beliefs about alcohol use contrasted with the drinking norms of college students and facts about the negative consequences of drinking. The profile also reviews the protective strategies the student is already using to reduce heavy drinking and negative consequences and suggests the use of additional strategies. Personalized feedback profiles are tailored to the needs of each target population. For example, student athletes receive personalized feedback profiles that address alcohol use and athletic performance.
Students completing the baseline questionnaires then participate in a brief intervention with a trained psychologist or other service provider at the university counseling center. Like the feedback profiles, sessions are tailored to the target population. During the intervention session, the service provider delivers the information contained in the feedback profile using a motivational interviewing framework. Students complete follow-up questionnaires that mirror the baseline questionnaires 3 and 6 months after the brief intervention to assess changes in behavior and perceptions and reinforce the information provided during the session. Students who show signs of alcohol dependence during the intervention are referred to community-based agencies specializing in the treatment of alcohol and drug dependence.
Descriptive Information
Areas of Interest | Substance use disorder prevention |
Outcomes |
1: Use of protective strategies when drinking 2: Alcohol use 3: Negative consequences of alcohol use 4: Perceptions of other students' alcohol use |
Outcome Categories | Alcohol |
Ages | 18-25 (Young adult) |
Genders |
Male Female |
Races/Ethnicities |
American Indian or Alaska Native Asian Black or African American Hispanic or Latino Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander White Race/ethnicity unspecified |
Settings | School |
Geographic Locations | Urban |
Implementation History | More than 16,000 students have been screened for risky alcohol use within the STEPS program since its inception at the University at Albany, State University of New York. Of these students, about one third met criteria to receive a brief intervention, and outcome data were collected for students completing the brief intervention. |
NIH Funding/CER Studies |
Partially/fully funded by National Institutes of Health: No Evaluated in comparative effectiveness research studies: Yes |
Adaptations | No population- or culture-specific adaptations of the intervention were identified by the developer. |
Adverse Effects | No adverse effects, concerns, or unintended consequences were identified by the developer. |
IOM Prevention Categories |
Selective Indicated |
Quality of Research
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Readiness for Dissemination
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Costs
The cost information below was provided by the developer. Although this cost information may have been updated by the developer since the time of review, it may not reflect the current costs or availability of items (including newly developed or discontinued items). The implementation point of contact can provide current information and discuss implementation requirements.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Replications
No replications were identified by the developer. |