Reduced drinking as a mechanism for alcohol and violence-related intervention effects from Positive Change©.

PURPOSE: Alcohol use and sexual assault (SA) victimization often co-occur on college campuses, and prevention programs should ideally address both of these public health issues with integrated evidence-based interventions. Positive Change© is a web-based intervention with integrated content on alcohol and SA using personalized normative feedback tailored by participant gender identity and sexual orientation. Building from previous program evaluations, the current study examines alcohol use as a mediator for the intervention effects of Positive Change© on alcohol-related consequences, SA victimization likelihood, and SA victimization severity.

METHODS

College students (n = 165) aged 18-25 who engaged in heavy episodic drinking in the past month were enrolled in a pilot randomized controlled trial of Positive Change©. Participants completed a baseline survey, were randomly assigned to receive Positive Change© (n = 83) or an assessment only control (n = 82) and completed a 3-month follow-up survey.

RESULTS

Two separate path analyses were conducted. Drinks per week mediated the effect of Positive Change© to reduce alcohol-related consequences and reduce SA likelihood, but did not mediate reduced SA severity.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that brief well-integrated programs utilizing personalized normative feedback for alcohol use and SA may be ideal for reducing alcohol use, which in turn may reduce risk of SA victimization among college students.