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The efficacy of the Alcohol Skills Training Program (ASTP; Miller, et al., 2000) was evaluated in 204 heavy-drinking college students randomly assigned to either ASTP (n=119) or an assessment-only control (n=85) condition. The volunteer ASTP sample (n=119) was also compared to a sample of students mandated to ASTP following a first-time sanction (n=90). At baseline, mandated students reported lower levels of peak drinking, negative consequences, readiness to change and higher defensiveness than voluntary students. However, the voluntary sample showed reductions in problem drinking indicators over time such that there were no differences from mandated students at follow-up. There were no outcome differences between volunteers assigned to ASTP versus assessment-only. A new measure of defensiveness was evaluated and had a significant moderating effect on ASTP outcome for peak drinking consumed on a peak occasion at follow-up among mandated students., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The goal of the current study was to determine if failure to develop/utilize alcohol-specific strategies to manage drinking behavior might serve as a mechanism through which early alcohol exposure leads to higher levels of later alcohol use and alcohol-related negative consequences, while taking into account impulsivity as an underlying risk factor for both of these outcomes. Data were collected between September and December of 2005 from a random sample of college students via an online survey. A total of 309 students provided complete data on all measure of interest. Separate regression analyses predicting typical weekly alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems indicated that use of alcohol-specific protective strategies partially mediated the effect of age of first use on these outcomes. An earlier age of onset was associated with less frequent use of alcohol-specific protective strategies, which in turn was associated with drinking- and alcohol-related problems. Implications for tailoring alcohol prevention and intervention programs targeting adolescents are discussed., (Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Heavy drinking young adults often have limited motivation to change their drinking behavior. Adding pharmacotherapy to brief counseling is a novel approach to treating this population. A small open-label pilot study was conducted to assess the feasibility of offering eight weeks of daily and targeted (i.e., taken as needed in anticipation of drinking) naltrexone with BASICS (brief motivational) counseling to heavy drinking young adults; to assess the tolerability of the medication in this population and to obtain preliminary efficacy data. The sample (N=14) showed strong adherence to study appointments and medication taking, supporting the feasibility of this approach. Overall, the medication was well-tolerated. Significant reductions from baseline were observed in drinks per drinking day and in percent heavy drinking days and these gains were maintained one month after treatment ended. A significant decrease in alcohol-related consequences was also observed. Findings from this small pilot study suggest that naltrexone in combination with BASICS represents a promising strategy to reduce heavy drinking among young adults.