Alcohol and drug prevention in colleges and universities: a review of the literature

Mentor UK is a registered UK charity that works in conjunction with its partners in the International Mentor Family. Our mission is identical: to focus on the prevention of drug misuse in our efforts to promote the health and wellbeing of children and young people and to reduce damage to their lives. Mentor aims to support the effective use of human and intellectual resources to achieve this goal. Alcohol and Drug Prevention in Colleges and Universities Colleges and universities can play an important role in preventing alcohol and drug use and related harm. The aim of this paper is to review the evidence around the harm that alcohol and/or drugs cause among further education college and university students in the UK and examine the effectiveness of drug prevention. Little is known about the harm that alcohol and/or drugs cause among students in the UK and about the effectiveness of universities and colleges ’ efforts to prevent substance misuse and related harm. Evidence about the effectiveness of drug education/awareness campaigns, social norms interventions, extracurricular activities and motivational interviewing is discussed. The paper concludes that more effort is needed to build the evidence base of drug prevention, increase the profile of drug prevention in further and higher education and support further education colleges and universities to deliver effective interventions. Alcohol and Drug Prevention in Colleges and Universitie