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Guide
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MOTIVATIONAL BRIEF INTERVENTION FOR HIGH-RISK COLLEGE STUDENT DRINKERS
OVERVIEW
The Motivational Brief Intervention for High-Risk College Student Drinkers is a school-based program aimed at reducing and preventing heavy drinking among college students. The intervention uses a counseling approach employing motivational interviewing techniques and feedback on drinking behavior to promote self-awareness and desire for change among youth problem drinkers. Findings from three randomized studies suggest the program reduces binge drinking and alcohol-related problems. Findings related to the frequency of alcohol consumption are mixed. An evaluation that separated the motivational interviewing and feedback components of the intervention found that motivational interviewing and feedback was superior to either motivational interviewing alone or feedback alone in terms of drinking behavior, but was only superior to motivational interviewing only for alcohol-related problems.
Target population: College students at-risk for becoming problem drinkers, due to regular binge drinking.
The Motivational Brief Intervention for High-Risk College Student Drinkers is a school-based program aimed at preventing and reducing heavy alcohol consumption among individuals who display risky drinking behaviors prior to entering college. Students attend one intervention session. During the two weeks prior to the session, participants keep a record of their drinking behaviors. During the intervention session, interviewers review this information with participants and give them individualized feedback on their drinking patterns, risks, attitudes. Interviewers then compare the student’s behaviors to college averages and inform the participants of potential problems they may have to deal with as a result of their drinking.
The intervention is adapted from the handbook for Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (Dimeff, Baer, Kivlahan, & Marlatt 1999). During the sessions, interviewers use an interaction style based on the techniques of motivational interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 1991). These techniques involve interviewers sharing available evidence with the participant while avoiding passing judgments or engaging in arguments. Interviewers encourage students to consider the possibility of changing their maladaptive behaviors. The ultimate goal of the interviewing sessions is to get participants to come to their own conclusions about the benefits of change.
Borsari, B., and Carey, K.B. (2000). Effects of a brief motivational intervention with college student drinkers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 728-733.
Evaluated population: Sixty undergraduate students who had reported binge drinking at least twice in the previous month served as the sample for this evaluation. The mean age of participants was 18; 57 percent of were female, and 12 percent were ethnic minorities.
Approach: The sample was recruited from an introductory psychology course. Students who had at least two incidents of binge drinking in the past month were invited to participate and were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control condition. Data were collected at baseline and then again six weeks after the intervention on the number of drinks consumed per week, number of times consuming alcohol in the past month, frequency of binge drinking in the past month, and alcohol-related problems in the past thirty days.
Results: Six weeks after the intervention, participants in the intervention group consumed significantly fewer drinks per week, consumed alcohol significantly fewer times in the past month, and consumed alcohol to the point of binge drinking significantly fewer times in the past month, as compared with participants in the control group. There were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups in terms of alcohol-related problems.
Evaluated population: Participants were 279 students at a medium size private university in the southern United States who were at least 18 years old and had reported at least one binge drinking episode in the previous two weeks. The sample was 64 percent female and 85 percent white. The average age was 20 years.
Approach: After screening, participants were stratified by sex and frequency of binge drinking and then randomly assigned to receive motivational interviewing plus feedback (intervention), feedback only, motivational interviewing only, or assessment only. Data were collected online at baseline and three and six months after the intervention on average number of drinks per week, peak blood-alcohol content, and alcohol-related problems. A composite variable of drinking behavior that used the data alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems was also examined as an outcome.
Results: The students who received motivational interviewing and feedback reported fewer drinks per week and had a marginally lower composite score at the three-month follow-up, compared with those who received assessment only. At the six-month follow-up, they reported fewer drinks per week, a lower peak blood-alcohol content, and fewer alcohol-related problems, and they had a lower composite score, compared with those who received assessment only.
Compared with students who received feedback only, those who received motivational interviewing plus feedback reported fewer drinks per week and a lower peak BAC and had a lower composite score at the three- and six-month follow-ups, although the difference in peak blood-alcohol content was only marginally significant at the three-month follow-up, and there were no impacts on alcohol-related problems.
Compared with students who received motivational interviewing only, those who received motivational interviewing and feedback reported fewer drinks per week and a lower BAC and had a lower composite score at the three- and six-month follow-ups. They also reported fewer alcohol-related problems at the six-month follow-up.
Borsari, B., and Carey, K.B. (2000). Effects of a brief motivational intervention with college student drinkers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 728-733.
Dimeff, L.A., Baer, J.S., Kivlahan, D.R., & Marlatt, G.A. (1999). Brief alcohol screening and intervention for college students: A harm reduction approach. New York: Guilford Press.
Miller, W.R., & Rollnick, S. (1991). Motivational interviewing: Preparing people to change addictive behavior. New York, NY: Guildford Press.
KEYWORDS: School-based, Youth, Alcohol use, Any substance use, Other, Counseling/therapy, Co-ed, High-Risk.
Program information last updated on 10/19/11.
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© Child Trends 2003 |