Henry Wechsler’s research while affiliated with Harvard Medical School and other places

Objective: Determine rate of college student alcohol-related vehicular traffic fatalities in Virginia during 2007. Participants: Undergraduates at colleges and universities in Virginia. Methods: Institutions with membership in the American College Health Association were invited to participate in a survey. Data collected from institutional reports of student deaths due to vehicular accidents. Results: Twenty-four institutions were invited to participate. Sixteen responded (response rate = 67%), comprising total enrollment of 117,100 for 17- to 24-year-olds (56% of total college population in state). Five traffic deaths were reported, representing 4.3 deaths per 100,000 students. Based on statewide statistics that estimate alcohol contributes to 38.9% of traffic deaths, rate of alcohol-related motor vehicle deaths is 1.7 deaths per 100,000 college students in Virginia, which is 89% lower than leading national estimates. Conclusions: These findings suggest that past estimates of alcohol-related vehicular deaths among college students are overstated.

The objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of state tobacco control program expenditures on individual-level tobacco use behaviors among young adults. Data come from the 1997, 1999 and 2001 waves of the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS). Our findings indicate that a higher level of state spending on tobacco control programs in the prior year is associated with a statistically significant increase in the probability that current daily smokers report at least one attempt to quit smoking in the past year. We also find evidence that higher state expenditures on tobacco control programs in the prior year are associated with reductions in the prevalence of daily smoking and 30-day cigar use among college students. We do not find any statistically significant association between state tobacco control program expenditures and the number of attempts to quit smoking among those with at least one attempt, or on the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use in the past month.

In 1984 President Ronald Reagan signed into law 23 USC µ158, The National Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) Act. This law established a uniform minimum age to purchase and possess alcoholic beverages across the 50 United States. Prior to enacting this law, the legal drinking age varied across states. Following enactment of the MDLA, drinking behavior and alcohol-involved traffic fatalities declined dramatically across the United States among youth under age 21. Considerable research involving various study designs has been conducted to assess the effectiveness of a drinking age of 21 for reducing drinking and is associated problems compared to lower thresholds both prior to and following the national MLDA law. Members of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs section of American Public Health Association have been major contributors to this research. Numerous reviews of this literature have been conducted and they consistently conclude that the MLDA of 21 has led to reduced alcohol consumption and alcohol-related injuries and mortality. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that the MLDA of 21 has saved more than 800 lives each year. The MDLA of 21 is a documented public health success and an important tool to combat heavy drinking in the United States. Despite the success of the MLDA heavy drinking among underage youth, as well as adults, remains a significant public health concern. Continued efforts are needed to address alcohol-related morbidity and mortality.

In the 25 years since the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs section of the American Public Health Association was formed, considerable research has advanced the understanding of heavy alcohol consumption and its health consequences among college students. The Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS) was a groundbreaking study that made significant contributions to this literature. CAS researchers surveyed a nationally representative sample of students attending four year colleges in the United States four times between 1993 and 2001, collecting data from more than 50,000 students and publishing more than 80 scientific papers. Contributions of the CAS include: (1) documenting the extent of the problem, (2) establishing the public health importance of focusing on lower drink thresholds, such as the 5/4 measure of binge drinking, and the harms produced at this level of drinking for drinkers, (3) recognizing the second hand effects of student drinking experienced by other students and neighborhood residents, and (4) documenting the important role played by the college environment in promoting heavy drinking by students, including campus culture, alcohol control policies, enforcement of policies, access, availability, pricing, marketing, and special promotions of alcohol.

Heavy alcohol use among U.S. college students is a major contributor to young adult morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to examine whether college alcohol policy enforcement levels predict changes in student drinking and related behaviors in a state system of public colleges and universities, following a system-wide change to a stricter policy. Students and administrators at 11 Massachusetts public colleges/universities completed surveys in 1999 (N of students = 1252), one year after the policy change, and again in 2001 (N = 1074). We calculated policy enforcement scores for each school based on the reports of deans of students, campus security chiefs, and students, and examined the correlations between perceived enforcement levels and the change in student drinking rates over the subsequent two year period, after weighting the 2001 data to adjust for demographic changes in the student body. Overall rates of any past-30-days drinking, heavy episodic drinking, and usual heavy drinking among past-30-days drinkers were all lower in 2001 compared to 1999. School-level analyses (N = 11) found deans' baseline reports of stricter enforcement were strongly correlated with subsequent declines in heavy episodic drinking (Pearson's r = -0.73, p = 0.011). Moreover, consistently high enforcement levels across time, as reported by deans, were associated with greater declines in heavy episodic drinking. Such relationships were not found for students' and security chiefs' reports of enforcement. Marijuana use did not rise during this period of decline in heavy drinking. Study findings suggest that stronger enforcement of a stricter alcohol policy may be associated with reductions in student heavy drinking rates over time. An aggressive enforcement stance by deans may be an important element of an effective college alcohol policy.

Alcohol use health consequences are considerable; prevention efforts are needed, particularly for adolescents and college students. The national minimum legal drinking age of 21 years is a primary alcohol-control policy in the United States. An advocacy group supported by some college presidents seeks public debate on the minimum legal drinking age and proposes reducing it to 18 years. We reviewed recent trends in drinking and related consequences, evidence on effectiveness of the minimum legal drinking age of 21 years, research on drinking among college students related to the minimum legal drinking age, and the case to lower the minimum legal drinking age. Evidence supporting the minimum legal drinking age of 21 years is strong and growing. A wide range of empirically supported interventions is available to reduce underage drinking. Public health professionals can play a role in advocating these interventions.

Alcohol consumption control policies at U.S. intercollegiate sports events, and their association with student drinking, were assessed using data from a 2001 nationally representative survey of students and administrators (n = 7,261 students, N = 117 colleges). Alcohol was available to sports event attendees through in-stadium sales, tailgating parties, and allowing spectators to bring in alcohol. Policies varied by college, with fewer restrictions at large public schools with NCAA Division I athletics. Permitting alcohol at tailgate parties was associated with more students drinking at sports events. Future research should evaluate whether enacting policy restrictions can reduce drinking and related problems at intercollegiate sports events.

The purpose of this study was to examine drinking levels, related harms, and secondhand effects of alcohol use at heavy drinking colleges between 1993 and 2005 at colleges with high levels of drinking in 1993. Students attending 18 colleges with high levels of heavy episodic drinking (50% of students or more) from the 1993 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study were surveyed in 2005 (n = 4,518). Data collected through mailed and Web-based questionnaires were compared with responses from students at the same schools in 1993, 1997, 1999, and 2001 (N = 13,254) using time trend analyses. Overall, levels of alcohol consumption, experience of problems, and levels of secondhand effects remained high among students attending heavy drinking colleges. More than four of five students at these schools drank alcohol (range: 85%-88%), and more than half engaged in heavy episodic drinking (range: 53%-58%). The stability of drinking behavior occurred among subgroups of students as well. The few statistically significant changes occurred mainly between 1993 and 1997. A decline in driving after any drinking between 1997 and 2005 was observed, but no similar decline was found in two other measures of drinking and driving. Heavy drinking and associated problems continue unabated, with few exceptions, at colleges that are most in need of intervention: those with high levels of heavy episodic drinking. Addressing student alcohol use at heavy drinking colleges may require stronger, more consistent, and more comprehensive approaches, with increased emphasis on the alcohol environment.

This study compares the drinking behavior of and correlates of fraternity and sorority members with nonmembers to determine if public perceptions of alcohol use by students affiliated with Greek social organizations are warranted.