Roughly 600 Brown students are currently participating in Project LAUNCH, a study that monitors students' alcohol-consumption patterns.
The study, which also involves students at Rhode Island College and the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, is funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
LAUNCH stands for "Longitudinal Assessment of Undergraduate Naturalistic Change." As part of the study, students complete surveys asking how often they consumed alcohol during a given period - for example, during freshmen orientation - as well as how much and what type of alcohol they drank.
Survey questions also touch on whether students believe drinking affected their mood or behavior and whether they engaged in sexual activity after drinking.
Members of the class of 2008 were the first students at Brown to participate in the study, which has picked up new participants with each subsequent group of incoming first-years.
Project LAUNCH randomly selects incoming students at participating schools and asks them to complete a series of surveys. Students receive $20 for completing a pre-matriculation survey, $25 for a survey administered at the end of their freshman year and $30 for a survey completed at the end of their sophomore year. Students can also receive $2 for each additional survey, and if students complete all of these surveys in one semester they receive a $50 bonus.
Participants can also receive money for in-person interviews that last for one hour. One interview pays $25, while a follow-up interview is good for $30.
Nancy Barnett, an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior who is serving as the study's principal investigator, said the project "is meant to show when alcohol-usage begins and ends, and what these choices are influenced by."
The study particularly targets minority students. Barnett said she and her fellow researchers want to examine why minorities either choose to drink or abstain from alcohol while in college.
All information provided by participating students is confidential. If a student is under 18 years of age at the time of the first survey, parental consent is required. The parental consent form describes the project as an effort "to investigate risk and protective factors related to alcohol use and alcohol-related experiences during the first two years of college."
Barnett is working with Allan Fingeret, a psychology professor at Rhode Island College, and Donald Corriveau, a psychology professor at UMass-Dartmouth.
Michelle Norworth '10, who is participating in the study, said she "thought of it as an easy way to make some extra money."
Daniel Cheng '10, another participant, said he has not noticed a significant change in his drinking habits since starting college, "whether it be for the environmental change or the surveys through Project LAUNCH."
Rich Ellis '10 said he wishes he had been selected to participate, adding, "It seems like a lot of students drink here."
"In general, the alcohol consumption at Brown provides for a completely different atmosphere than that of my high school," Ellis said.
Data collection will continue for the next two years, at which point Barnett will begin data analysis.
Barnett said she has been pleased with the participation and feedback from Brown students. "Brown students in particular have been good at participating, and there is a good retention rate throughout the two years of the project," she said.
