The slope of change: an environmental management approach to reduce drinking on a day of celebration at a US college.
OBJECTIVE
This research extends the literature on event-specific environmental management with a case study evaluation of an intervention designed to reduce student drinking at a university's year-end celebration.


METHODS
Cornell University undergraduates were surveyed each May from 2001 through 2009. Sample sizes ranged from 322 to 1,973.


METHODS
Randomly sampled surveys were conducted after a large, annual spring campus celebration. An environmental management plan was initiated in 2003 that included increased enforcement of the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) law.


RESULTS
In the short term, drinking at the campus celebration decreased while drinking before the event increased. Over time, the intervention significantly reduced high-risk drinking on the day of the event, especially among those under the age of 21.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings are contrary to the argument that enforcement of MLDA laws simply leads to increased high-risk drinking, and therefore have implications for how colleges approach the challenge of student alcohol misuse.
Gannett Health Services, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. tcm9@cornell.edu
Timothy C
TC
Marchell
Deborah D
DD
Lewis
Katherine
K
Croom
Martin L
ML
Lesser
Susan H
SH
Murphy
Valerie F
VF
Reyna
Jeremy
J
Frank
Lisa
L
Staiano-Coico
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000846:Anniversaries and Special Events; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D035846:Law Enforcement; D008297:Male; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult