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University of the Pacific

An experimental study of methods to teach college students standard drink measures and pouring accuracy using the red cup

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>This exploratory study ( n =55) informs efforts aimed at addressing the problem of collegiate high-risk drinking by evaluating the effectiveness of three methods for teaching standard drink measures to first-year college students. These methods include the use of numeric measures in ounces, two-dimensional (2-D) images, and three-dimensional (3-D) models. All of these represent the appropriate volume for four standard drinks—beer, wine, hard alcohol, and alcohol contained in one mixed drink—as defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). By increasing students’ knowledge of standard drink measures and their own accurate pouring ability, they may improve their efficacious use of protective strategies, including tracking of the number of drinks they consume. In this study, when the distinction between over-pouring and under-pouring was eliminated and the absolute values of the percentages of inaccurate pouring became the focus, all three interventions were found to improve the accuracy of the ability to pour standard-size mixed drinks. Although violations to some of the statistical assumptions underlying ANOVA precluded use of this inferential technique to directly compare the three interventions, the data analytic approaches used did suggest that both the 2-D and the 3-D interventions may be more beneficial, overall, than the NIAAA numerical intervention. Associations between knowledge of standard drink measures, self-efficacy in pouring standard drinks, self-efficacy in using protective strategies, use of protective strategies, pouring accuracy, alcohol consumption, and negative consequences associated with alcohol usage were explored. Use of 3-D standard drink models offers prevention educators a simple yet potentially more effective method for teaching students and can be conducted easily in a variety of educational settings. Additionally, this type of education may ultimately improve the accuracy of data collection on student drinking. Suggestions for both administrators and further research are presented.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Level thesis:degree_level
Dissertation - Pacific Access Restricted
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Educational Administration and Leadership
Year dc:date.available
2015

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Dunn Carlton, Heather C.
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Rachelle Hackett

Subjects

dc:subject × 9

Rights

dc:rights

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Identifier
9781339470085
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholarlycommons.pacific.edu:uop_etds-1048

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of the Pacific
Base URL
scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Dunn Carlton, Heather C.. An experimental study of methods to teach college students standard drink measures and pouring accuracy using the red cup. Dissertation - Pacific Access Restricted thesis, 2015. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/49