The University of Idaho Counseling and Testing Center provided students with self-assessments measuring alcohol consumption for National Alcohol Screening Day Thursday.
Kasey Thams, a counselor at the Counseling and Testing Center, organized this year’s event at UI. She said the purpose of the annual event is to provide students with useful information about available resources and their personal drinking behavior.
“Students might think that their drinking is normal or acceptable because of the drinking that goes on, on college campuses. So it’s helpful for them to get some feedback that they might be drinking more than other students on campus,” Thams said.
National Alcohol Screening Day is sponsored by an organization called Screening for Mental Health, which promotes screening for depression and eating disorders as well as alcohol awareness. In addition to encouraging groups at universities to sponsor screenings, the organization has a website with online versions of the questionnaires that are provided for on-location events.
Thams said Screening for Mental Health also provided several resources that the UI Counseling and Testing Center gave students during the screening.
Thams said campus alcohol consumption is a nationwide issue, because of the high number of students affected. She quoted the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and said more than 150,000 students developed an alcohol-related health problem while more than 1.2 percent of students indicated that they had attempted suicide in a drinking-related incident.
“I think that alcohol use on any campus is definitely something that should be addressed, because across the country, it’s definitely an issue,” she said. “A number of students who come to the counseling center do report that alcohol related difficulties, either through academics or other problems.”
All participants at the event received immediate feedback on their questionnaires, information about the Counseling and Testing Center and a free slice of pizza. The questionnaires provided by the Screening for Mental Health asked questions about the amount of alcohol students consume, their perceptions about drinking and their perceptions of how others see their drinking habits. The Counseling and Testing Center provided additional information and resources for students with results indicating that they may have — or be at risk for developing — an alcohol problem.
Potentially at-risk students received referrals to counselors and resources in the Counseling and Testing Center, in the Student Health Center and in private firms within the Moscow community.
Thams said last September’s screening had 334 participants, a number she hoped to increase to 400 this year. She said an increased awareness of the Counseling and Testing Center, and the services it offers to students, is one result of the alcohol screening.
“We are starting that dialogue, and making ourselves known to students who might not otherwise know that we’re here,” Thams said.
Daphne Jackson can be reached at [email protected]