Fordham Athlete Alcohol Prevention Initiative

The Fordham Athlete Alcohol Prevention Initiative, a project funded by a U.S. Department of Education High Risk Drinking Prevention Grant, follows the NIAAA protocol for a multi-tiered approach to change the culture of college student drinking, by implementing three inter-related interventions that address the high risk drinking among student athletes at the individual, peer and institutional levels.

This intervention incorporates motivational enhancement principles, cognitive behavioral skills training and norms clarification into a multi-component brief motivational enhancement group session for all the varsity athletes. The purpose of this intervention is to motivate student athletes to make healthier choices regarding their consumption of alcohol. The sessions occur during the team’s or non -traditional season because research has indicated that drinking increases during this time.

The Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) is comprised of the team captains from each sport. The SAAC peer intervention training is a 2 hour session in the fall with three additional booster sessions throughout the course of the year. The training session incorporates elements of Motivational Interviewing techniques to engage the group and the initial session will feature technical information, leadership skills training, information regarding the resources available to student athletes, and skill building exercises to increase SAAC member’s knowledge of high risk drinking and self efficacy in intervening in these situations.

The purpose of this intervention is to provide members of the SAAC with knowledge and skills to help their teammates make better choices about drinking, resolve alcohol related conflicts among team members, and identify and provide referral support for team members engaging in high risk drinking.

The final prevention strategy is the establishment of the Student Life and Athletics Administrators Coalition (SLAAC). The purpose of this is to enhance understanding and collaborative approaches for prevention and early identification of drinking problems among intercollegiate athletes.

The goals of the SLAAC include: increasing regular communication between Intercollegiate Athletics, Student Life administrators and other stakeholders, evaluating, modifying and developing intra-university policies that promote a clear and consistent message in regards to alcohol consumption by varsity athletes, and increasing involvement of coaches in addressing high risk drinking and detecting alcohol problems in order to promote early intervention services and resources for student athletes.