A pilot program designed to prevent alcohol and other drug-related harm among student-athletes is off to a promising start, according to data collected from the first phase of the project.

About 2,500 student-athletes from 60 Division II athletics departments participated in a program called “myPlaybook,” which was developed by researchers at Prevention Strategies LLC and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. It was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Division II agreed to provide the participant base for the pilot as a way to enhance student-athlete safety and well-being in accordance with the division’s strategic-positioning platform. The division also sought to complement the NCAA’s current drug-testing program as a deterrent to risky choices.

A survey of participants from the pilot showed that most regard the myPlaybook format as a valuable educational source that they would advocate for further NCAA use.

Two student-athlete groups were studied, both of which were surveyed in early and late September regarding substance use and related factors. Between the two surveys, Group 1 completed the myPlaybook intervention that included information about NCAA-banned substances, interactive scenarios and a series of situation-based “lessons,” while Group 2 did not.  Group 1 served as the myPlaybook intervention group and Group 2 served as a “control” or comparison group.

Responses reveal that student-athletes in Group 1 clearly benefited from the intervention, demonstrating “immediate gains” in understanding NCAA drug-testing procedures, social norms, and the prevalence and frequency of binge drinking. They also realized negative marijuana expectancies, harm-prevention strategies and intentions to avoid marijuana in the future.

Group 2 members then participated in the program as well, and both groups were surveyed again. Participants reported reduced alcohol and marijuana use and intentions to curb use even further in the future.

“Results from the first phase of the program showed that participants were influenced to change their behavior and that their intentions to use the program’s harm-prevention strategies related to alcohol increased significantly,” said NCAA Associate Director of Health and Safety Mary Wilfert, who also noted that the effects were maintained for several weeks after the program was administered.

“Most interventions are much more likely to change attitudes than behavior, so to have the surveys from the myPlaybook program reveal an actual effect on behavior was highly encouraging to us,” said lead researcher David Wyrick, who in addition to his associate professor status at UNCG is also president of Prevention Strategies, which developed the myPlaybook program.

Athletics administrators surveyed also had positive evaluations of myPlaybook. Eighty percent of administrators found the online tool easy to use and 100 percent thought that the program benefited student-athletes. More than 90 percent of student-athletes felt that myPlaybook was beneficial and more than 80 percent stated that drug education such as this should accompany the NCAA drug-testing program.

The Division II pilot focused primarily on alcohol and marijuana use, as well as general information on NCAA-banned substances and drug testing. The course also directs student-athletes to the Resource Exchange Center hosted by The National Center for Drug Free Sport for more content on banned substances. Overall, the curriculum identifies social norms, outlines ramifications of alcohol use and abuse, and gives student-athletes the tools they need to make healthy choices.

Wyrick said they have already received 65 letters of support from NCAA schools for the program’s second phase, which if funded by an additional NIDA allocation could be ready for 2010. In the meantime, Prevention Strategies is further developing the core intervention module and providing “booster sessions” that reinforce the core instruction and introduce new material as well. That programming will be available for NCAA schools from all three divisions to purchase this coming fall.

Because of their assistance with the pilot program, Division II members will be able to purchase the program at a reduced rate. The Division II Conference Commissioners Association received a presentation encouraging their member schools to use the myPlaybook program.