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Resident Assistant Training Program for Increasing Alcohol, Other Drug, and Mental Health First-Aid Efforts

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Abstract

In college and university residence halls, resident assistants (RAs) are expected to serve as first-aid providers to students who may have alcohol, other drug, mental health, and academic problems. Despite this responsibility, evidence-based, first-aid programs have not been developed and tested for the RA workforce. The current study examined effects of an investigational first-aid program designed specifically for RAs. The online Peer Hero Training program is a novel approach to RA training in its use of interactive video dramatizations of incidents involving substance-using or distressed residents. A 9-month randomized trial conducted on eight US campuses compared RAs who participated in the Peer Hero Training program to RAs who received training-as-usual. Participation in the Peer Hero Training program significantly increased RA first-aid efforts for residential students who may have had alcohol, other drug, mental health, or academic problems 6 months after baseline. Compared with those in the training-as-usual condition, RAs in the Peer Hero Training program made more than 10 times as many first-aid efforts for possible alcohol problems, almost 14 times the number of first-aid efforts for possible drug use, almost 3 times the number of first-aid efforts for possible mental health problems, and 3 times the number of first-aid efforts for academic problems. There was no evidence that measured RA attitudes mediated the effects of the intervention. Results of this preliminary evaluation trial suggest that online training using interactive video dramatizations is a viable approach to strengthening RAs’ ability to provide alcohol, other drugs, and mental health first-aid to undergraduates.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 5R42AA016990, Co-PIs: Dennis L. Thombs, PhD and Doug Olson. The authors thank Gary Kimble, Dan Oltersdorf, Steve Saffian, Doug Olson, and Noah Sodano for their important contributions to this study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Behavioral and Community Health, Texas Prevention Institute, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, 76107-2699, USA

    Dennis L. Thombs & Matthew E. Rossheim

  2. Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, Dallas Regional Campus, Dallas, TX, USA

    Jennifer M. Reingle Gonzalez

  3. Counseling and Human Development Services, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Cynthia J. Osborn

  4. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Forth Worth, TX, USA

    Sumihiro Suzuki

Authors
  1. Dennis L. Thombs
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  2. Jennifer M. Reingle Gonzalez
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  3. Cynthia J. Osborn
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  4. Matthew E. Rossheim
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  5. Sumihiro Suzuki
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Correspondence to Dennis L. Thombs.

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Thombs, D.L., Gonzalez, J.M.R., Osborn, C.J. et al. Resident Assistant Training Program for Increasing Alcohol, Other Drug, and Mental Health First-Aid Efforts. Prev Sci 16, 508–517 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-014-0515-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-014-0515-x

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