Extending BASICS

Prevention and intervention research has been a strong interest of mine since graduate school and continues to be a central focus of my work (Barnett et al., 2004; Corbin, McNair, & Carter, 2001; Fromme & Corbin, 2004; Wiers et al., 2003). Thus, now that my lab and survey work are well established at Yale, I have turned my attention to the initiation of prevention outcome studies. I am currently a Co-investigator on a study that was recently funded (R01) by the NIAAA. This project represents collaboration with Stephanie O’Malley in the Department of Psychiatry. The goal of the project is to improve upon the efficacy of a well validated brief intervention for alcohol problems: the Brief Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS; Dimeff, Baer, Kivlahan, & Marlatt, 1999). Although BASICS and other similar approaches have been found to be efficacious in reducing alcohol-related harm in non-treatment seeking populations, average effect sizes (Cohen’s d ~.20) are typically small (Carey et al., 2007; Moyer et al., 2002). Based on past research demonstrating efficacy of naltrexone in treatment seeking populations, we hypothesized that naltrexone might facilitate outcomes of brief interventions for non treatment-seeking young adults. Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist believed to reduce craving for alcohol and decrease the rewarding effects of alcohol consumption (O’Malley et al., 2002). Data collected at Yale and another large public university suggests that college students find medication a reasonable option relative to other approaches like individual counseling. Thus, it seems feasible to incorporate naltrexone as an adjunct to brief interventions with college students if the results of our randomized control trial (RCT) support the efficacy of this approach. The study will recruit 18-25 year olds with a range of alcohol-related problems from sub-clinical problems to alcohol abuse and dependence. If we find support for this approach, the next stop would be to incorporate naltrexone into existing campus-based prevention programs targeting high risk students.