Joseph LaBrie
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Educating Students on the Risks of Drinking
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Joseph LaBrie, S.J., assistant professor of psychology and director of the Heads UP! alcohol awareness program, believes early intervention is crucial in preventing and reducing student binge drinking.
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Joseph LaBrie, S.J., assistant professor of psychology, is the director of Heads UP!, a comprehensive alcohol awareness and treatment program that aims to curb problem drinking by LMU students. HeadsUP! was named a model program by the U.S. Department of Education—one of only five programs so designated nationwide.
According to a study conducted by HeadsUP!, adjudicated students who participate in an early alcohol intervention program binge drink less. “Our research shows that the intervention clearly leads to reductions in drinking behavior, alcohol-related consequences and judicial recidivism,” says LaBrie.
The intervention for adjudicated students consisted of a group of 167 participants (100 males and 67 females) who were all first-time offenders of campus alcohol policies. “Males and females reduced their drinks per month by 50 percent and 45 percent, respectively,” said LaBrie, who spoke at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse Conference at Columbia University in March 2006.
LaBrie notes that his and national studies also suggest that young women are overdrinking at higher rates than their male counterparts and, therefore, HeadsUP! launched an initiative for female students in fall 2005. “The initial results of the first wave of this study are promising, showing that the women who participated in the intervention drank significantly less throughout their freshman year than did freshman female controls,” he says.
Approximately 900 students have received counseling through the HeadsUP! program since its inception in 2003, but LaBrie sees his work as just beginning. His future plans include disseminating information to and partnering with other colleges and universities, publishing a HeadsUP! Manual, and making HeadsUP! part of LMU’s freshman orientation.
“Simply, HeadsUP! seeks to change the campus culture with respect to drinking by involving all freshmen, student leaders, student groups, faculty, staff and parents in a comprehensive alcohol awareness and prevention program,” says LaBrie.