BY TED BORDEN
Daily Staff Reporter
Published March 23, 2001
In an attempt to gain a better perspective on student drug and alcohol use, the University Substance Abuse Research Center is releasing a survey to 5,000 undergraduate students this week.
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"Our broad aim is to hear from students about their attitudes and beliefs about substance abuse," said center Director Carol Boyd. "One goal is to evaluate our past and current health promotion efforts. These data will be used by the University to determine what behaviors are associated with the consequences of problem drinking."
This is one of few surveys of its kind to go solely to undergraduates. "We decided not to send it to graduate students or other University members because the people who are really suffering the negative effects are the undergraduates," Boyd said.
Like most substance abuse surveys, this survey asks respondents about drug and alcohol use. But students are also asked where and when they drink and use drugs, why they do and the consequential events of those actions.
Sean McCabe, survey co-principal investigator, noted that survey results, available in the fall, will also be compared to data collected by the Harvard University 2001 College Alcohol Study, a national study on substance use and abuse completed by 17,000 college undergraduate students.
"We will see how undergraduate students here compare to undergraduates attending institutions of higher education nationally, as well as to past cohorts of University undergraduates from Michigan," McCabe said.
Undergraduates were also surveyed in 1993 and 1999.
Boyd noted that the survey is completely confidential.
"The University does not know who is participating it"s 100 percent confidential," she said, adding that a private research firm, MS Interactive, an agency outside the University, will be collecting the data.
Half of the surveys were already sent via e-mail and the Internet, while the pen-and-paper surveys are being mailed out today.
This decision will allow researchers to conclude which mode of administration is more popular and could determine the survey"s future distribution. Boyd said she hopes to continue this survey every two years.
