Feds Honor UNC Wilmington Gender-Based Substance Prevention Program
11/2/2009 8:47:08 AM
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The U.S. Department of Education has recognized the University of North Carolina Wilmington's unique, gender-based substance prevention program as a model for other schools across the nation.
One of only five programs in the country to receive model status, UNC Wilmington's "Changing a High-Risk Drinking Culture through the Lens of Gender" earned a grant of $128,000 and designation as a Promising Program. Related visual opportunities, including a hands-on workshop at 1p.m., TODAY, Monday, Nov. 2, are available by request.
Because gender roles are so strongly tied to the reasons students abuse substances like alcohol, UNCW CROSSROADS substance abuse prevention office designed a gender-based program. The prevention strategies focus on educating students about the gender-specific factors related to their alcohol use, reducing the level of substance abuse consequences like unprotected sex, and challenging cultural norms of masculinity and femininity that perpetuate high-risk drinking.
As a result, high-risk drinking on the UNCW campus was reduced by a staggering 18 percent among men and 14 percent among women in three years.
CROSSROADS director Rebecca Caldwell said, "Messages about alcohol are often gender-specific, such as 'real men can drink a lot' and 'drinking makes women sexy.' We are challenging students to think critically about these ideas because this isn't just a campus issue. Students will go on to carry bad habits into the world without intervention."
The program includes 12 different forms of intervention facilitated by UNCW student educators, including classroom gender-specific sessions, a marketing campaign debunking common substance abuse myths tied to gender, and gender-based prevention workshops. The new grant will expand the gender-specific program to include more extensive research and concentrated educational efforts with fraternities, sororities, athletes and other high-risk campus groups.
The federal Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools cites that high-risk drinking and drug use by college students contribute to numerous academic, social and health-related problems that can last a lifetime.
Media are invited to interview Caldwell and others. Photo/footage opportunities can be arranged by request.
Media contact:
Joy Davis, UNCW Marketing and Communications, 910.916.8603 or davisjc@uncw.edu
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Caldwell Honored By Dept. of Ed.
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