Prevention of heavy drinking and associated negative consequences among mandated and voluntary college students

The Lifestyle Management Class (LMC) was evaluated as a universal and targeted alcohol prevention program among voluntary and mandated college students. The relative efficacy of peer- and professionalled group interventions was also tested in this randomized, controlled design. LMC participants showed decreases in driving after drinking relative to control participants. Changes in heavy drinking varied as a function of treatment condition, readiness to change, and gender, with a trend toward larger decreases among voluntary LMC participants high in readiness to change and a comparable though nonsignificant advantage for male LMC participants in the mandated sample. The LMC was comparably effective for mandated and voluntary students, with no clear advantage for peer- or professional-led groups.