Open Access
Negative consequences of substance use in European university students: results from Project SNIPE
(Karger, 2020) McAlaney, John; Dempsey, Robert C.; Helmer, Stefanie M.; Hal, Guido van; Bewick, Bridgette M.; Akvardar, Yildiz; Guillén Grima, Francisco; Ciencias de la Salud; Osasun Zientziak
Background: University students are a risk group for heavy substance use and the experience of various potentially severe negative substance use consequences which may impact on their health, social, and academic functioning. Whilst the experience of negative consequences of substance use is well understood in North American student samples, there is little data on these experiences in European students. In order to develop effective harm prevention and reduction interventions for students' substance use, there needs to be an understanding of the types of consequences experienced in European student samples. Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence and predictors of the experience of negative substance use-related consequences amongst university students in 7 European countries. Methods: University students (n = 4,482) in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Turkey, and the UK completed an online survey of their substance use behaviours and the experience of associated negative consequences. Results: European students reported that experiencing a hangover or illness, missing class, being short of money, and experiencing memory loss were the most commonly experienced negative consequences of substance use. Not living with other students and using alcohol, cannabis, sedatives, and cocaine were also associated with higher odds of experiencing these negative consequences. Conclusions: In contrast to North American data, European university students tended to experience consequences that are associated with lower level health risks rather than more severe consequences (e.g., drink-driving and physical injury). Harm prevention and reduction interventions for students should be targeted towards those consequences that are most salient to the target group to ensure feedback is relevant and potentially more effective in changing students' substance use behaviours.
Open Access
A feasibility trial to examine the social norms approach for the prevention and reduction of licit and illicit drug use in European University and college students
(BioMed Central, 2012) Pischke, Claudia R.; Zeeb, Hajo; Hal, Guido van; Vriesacker, Bart; McAlaney, John; Bewick, Bridgette M.; Akvardar, Yildiz; Guillén Grima, Francisco; Orosova, Olga; Salonna, Ferdinand; Kalina, Ondrej; Stock, Christiane; Helmer, Stefanie M.; Mikolajczyk, Rafael T.; Ciencias de la Salud; Osasun Zientziak
Background: Incorrect perceptions of high rates of peer alcohol and tobacco use are predictive of increased personal use in student populations. Correcting misperceptions by providing feedback has been shown to be an effective intervention for reducing licit drug use. It is currently unknown if social norms interventions are effective in preventing and reducing illicit drug use in European students. The purpose of this paper is to describe the design of a multi-site cluster controlled trial of a web-based social norms intervention aimed at reducing licit and preventing illicit drug use in European university students. Methods/Design: An online questionnaire to assess rates of drug use will be developed and translated based on existing social norms surveys. Students from sixteen universities in seven participating European countries will be invited to complete the questionnaire. Both intervention and control sites will be chosen by convenience. In each country, the intervention site will be the university that the local principal investigator is affiliated with. We aim to recruit 1000 students per site (baseline assessment). All participants will complete the online questionnaire at baseline. Baseline data will be used to develop social norms messages that will be included in a web-based intervention. The intervention group will receive individualized social norms feedback. The website will remain online during the following 5 months. After five months, a second survey will be conducted and effects of the intervention on social norms and drug use will be measured in comparison to the control site. Discussion: This project is the first cross-national European collaboration to investigate the feasibility of a social norms intervention to reduce licit and prevent illicit drug use among European university students. Final trial registration number DRKS00004375 on the ‘German Clinical Trials Register’.

Guillén Grima, Francisco

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