SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) is a preventive approach that screens for substance use and provides brief interventions or referrals to treatment based on the assessed risk level. Initially focused on alcohol use, SBIRT has now been extended to other substances, such as cannabis. Many college campuses have adopted web-based SBIRT to alleviate the burden on limited staff and overextended counseling centers, thereby improving accessibility for students. However, a lack of understanding remains regarding how students experience these programs and perceive campus norms. This study aims to evaluate students’ experiences with the ScreenU Alcohol and Cannabis programs, as well as their perceptions of campus norms concerning web-based SBIRT.
The study was conducted at a mid-sized, liberal arts, Catholic university in the northeastern United States and involved two separate student samples. The first sample, consisting of 143 students aged between 18 and 26, was recruited during the spring 2022 semester. These students completed the web-based alcohol SBIRT program (ScreenU Alcohol) and an accompanying survey. The second sample was recruited across the fall 2022 and spring 2023 semesters and included 80 students aged between 18 and 24, who completed the cannabis SBIRT program (ScreenU Cannabis) and a similar survey. Both surveys were conducted anonymously and gathered data on demographics, the substance use risk levels provided as feedback from the SBIRT programs, the students’ agreement and honesty regarding the feedback, their experience with the web-based SBIRT programs, and their perceptions of student and campus norms.
According to the study, 66% of students who completed the alcohol SBIRT program agreed with the feedback on their risk level, and most students found the program easy to understand and beneficial. However, students in the moderate/high-risk group demonstrated lower levels of trust in the program’s information. In contrast, only 30% of students who completed the cannabis SBIRT program agreed with the feedback, while 64% expressed skepticism toward the program’s content. Most students indicated that they learned about resources through the SBIRT program and found it useful for promoting mental health resources on campus and in the community, but students in the moderate/high-risk group were less likely to report gaining new information or trusting the program. These results suggest that the feedback may have conflicted with students’ self-image, leading to cognitive dissonance, and that exaggerated social norms may have caused students to underestimate the risks associated with their substance use. While this study highlights the potential of web-based SBIRT programs as effective prevention tools, it also underscores the need for further efforts to correct misconceptions about social norms and enhance the program’s credibility.
Takeaway: Web-based SBIRT programs have the potential to be effective prevention tools on college campuses, but addressing students’ skepticism and misconceptions about social norms is essential to enhancing their credibility and impact.