Disorders - Alcohol Use
Weinstock, J., Petry, N. M., Pescatello, L. S., Henderson, C. E.
Heavy drinking by college students is exceedingly harmful to the individuals and to the overall college environment. Current interventions to reduce drinking and negative consequences are infrequently utilized. This randomized clinical trial examined an alternative approach that sought to increase exercise behavior, a substance free activity, in sedentary heavy drinking college students. Participants (N = 70) were randomized to an 8-week exercise intervention: (a) motivational interviewing plus weekly exercise contracting (MI + EC) or (b) motivational interviewing and weekly contingency management for exercise (MI + CM). Follow-up evaluations occurred at posttreatment (2 months) and 6 months post baseline. Participants in both interventions significantly increased exercise frequency initially, and the MI + CM participants exercised significantly more than the MI + EC intervention participants during the intervention period (d = 1.70). Exercise behavior decreased during the follow-up period in both groups. Significant reductions in drinking behaviors and consequences were noted over time, but were not related to changes in exercise or the interventions (ds < 0.01). This study underscores the complex nature of promoting 1 specific health behavior change with the goal of changing another. Copyright © 2016 American Psychological Association.
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30(8) : 791-801
- Year: 2016
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Complementary & Alternative Interventions (CAM)
, Service Delivery & Improvement, Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy, Contingency management
, Physical activity, exercise, Other service delivery and improvement interventions
Samuolis, J., Lazowski, A., Kessler, J.
Objectives: This paper explores the extent to which curriculum infusion (CI) impacted undergraduate students' alcohol use, perceived peer alcohol use, use of protective behavioural strategies, academic performance and course engagement. Design: Two faculty members infused content on norms and protective behavioural strategies into selected academic courses. Setting: This study was conducted in a small liberal arts university in the northeastern part of the USA. Methods: A sample of 215 undergraduates from research design and statistics courses in the fall semester of 2013 and the spring and fall semesters of 2014 were selected. CI was experienced by 100 students and 115 students comprised the comparison group. Surveys were distributed at the end of each semester to these selected groups and the results were analysed. Results: Students who witnessed CI showed no improvement in alcohol use outcomes; however, there was a trend level effect for frequency of use. CI students reported higher expected final grades and similar levels of course engagement to comparison group students. Conclusion: CI is a topic that requires in-depth scientific research to assess its value on positively affecting college drinking consequences. From a pedagogical standpoint, CI was successful since it did not negatively impact on students' engagement and it was associated with higher expected final grades. Copyright © Health Education Journal.
Health Education Journal, 75(6) : 736-743
- Year: 2016
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Service Delivery & Improvement, Psychological Interventions (any)
, Psychoeducation, Other service delivery and improvement interventions
Sawant, M., Hospital, M., Wagner, E.
The rate of alcoholism among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) is six times the U.S. average. Compared with adolescents of other races/ethnicities, AI/AN adolescents report the highest rates of past month binge drinking, illicit drug use, and cigarette use. Despite the greatly elevated risk for alcohol and drug use problems among AI/AN, clinical researchers have done a poor job understanding and addressing this profound health disparity. To address this gap, we are conducting a RCT ("SACRED Connections") examining the effectiveness of a culturally congruent, school-based motivational interviewing (MI) with Native American high school students (N = 405). Participants were recruited from six predominantly Native American public schools located in Oklahoma. A school-wide paper-and-pencil screen was used to identify alcohol or drug users, who were randomly assigned to: (i) BA+PFR (brief advice and a personalized feedback report); (ii) BA+PFR+MI; and (iii) BA+PFR+MI+BOOST (6-months post intervention booster session). In current report, we examine (a) risk factors for substance use at baseline and (b) treatment effects at the 3-month follow-up. Analyses were conducted using SPSS (version 20.0) and MPLUS. Participants were on average 16.36 (SD = 1.25) years old, 51% female, and predominantly 11th (27%) or 12th (33%) graders. Participants who were older (beta = 0.32, p < 0.001), had unemployed mothers (beta = 0.14, p < 0.05), and scored lower on native reliance (beta =-0.74, p < 0.001) demonstrated greater and more frequent substance use. Regarding 3 month post-treatment outcomes, we found no significant effect for alcohol (based on PESQ). However, after controlling for baseline use, the likelihood of reporting marijuana use (beta=-0.11, p < 0.01) was significantly lower among MI participants than among PFR participants. We only have just begun to examine alcohol and others drug outcomes is finer detail using TLFB data-these data also will be presented. Our findings reveal the importance of age, economics, and culture in determining substance use severity among AI/AN teens;moreover, results indicate that MI-based brief intervention may be more effective in reducing marijuana than in reducing alcohol use among AI/AN adolescents.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 40 : 266A
- Year: 2016
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
, At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy
Scott-Sheldon, L. A. J., Carey, K. B., Kaiser, T. S., Knight, J. M., Carey, M. P.
Objective: This meta-analysis examines the efficacy of interventions to reduce alcohol consumption and related problems among college student members of Greek letter organizations. Method: Studies were identified through electronic bibliographic database searches and reviews of reference sections of relevant articles, and studies were included if the study evaluated (a) an individual-level alcohol intervention, (b) sampled fraternity or sorority members, and (c) measured alcohol consumption or problems. Included were 15 studies with 21 separate interventions (n = 6,026; 18% women). Independent raters coded sample, design, methodological features, and intervention content. Between- and within-group weighted mean effect sizes were calculated using random-effects models. Potential moderators, determined a priori, examined variability in effect sizes. Results: Interventions targeting fraternity or sorority members were not successful in reducing alcohol consumption and related problems relative to controls; however, participants in these interventions did reduce the quantity consumed on specific occasions and the frequency of drinking days from pre- to post-test. Interventions that addressed alcohol expectancies were associated with less alcohol consumption on specific occasions. Interventions that provided moderation strategies and skills-training, identified high-risk situations, or encouraged setting goals were associated with less reduction in the frequency of heavy drinking. Conclusions: Extant alcohol interventions show limited efficacy in reducing consumption and problems among fraternity and sorority members. More robust interventions are needed for use with student members of Greek letter organizations. Copyright © 2016 American Psychological Association.
Health Psychology, 35(7) : 670-684
- Year: 2016
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
Segrott, Jeremy, Rothwell, Heather, Pignatelli, Ilaria, Playle, Rebecca, Hewitt, Gillian, Huang, Chao, Murphy, Simon, Hickman, Matthew, Reed, Hayley, Moore, Laurence
Purpose: Involvement of parents/carers may increase effectiveness of primary school-based alcohol-misuse prevention projects through strengthening family-based protective factors, but rates of parental engagement are typically low. This paper reports findings from an exploratory trial of a school-based prevention intervention-Kids, Adults Together (KAT), based on the Social Development Model, which aimed to promote pro-social family communication in order to prevent alcohol misuse, and incorporated strategies to engage parents/carers. The purpose of this paper is to assess the feasibility and value of conducting an effectiveness trial of KAT. Design/methodology/approach: The study was a parallel-group cluster randomised exploratory trial with an embedded process evaluation. The study took place in south Wales, UK, and involved nine primary schools, 367 pupils in Years 5/6 (aged 9-11 years) and their parents/carers and teachers. Questionnaires were completed by pupils at baseline and four month follow-up, and by parents at six month follow-up. Findings: Overall KAT was delivered with good fidelity, but two of five intervention schools withdrew from the study without completing implementation. In total, 50 per cent of eligible parents participated in the intervention, and KAT had good acceptability among pupils, parents and teachers. However, a number of "progression to effectiveness trial" criteria were not met. Intermediate outcomes on family communication (hypothesised to prevent alcohol misuse) showed insufficient evidence of an intervention effect. Difficulties were encountered in identifying age appropriate outcome measures for primary school-age children, particularly in relation to family communication processes. The study was unable to find comprehensive methodological guidance on exploratory trials. Research limitations/implications: It would not be appropriate to conduct an effectiveness trial as key progression criteria relating to intervention and trial feasibility were not met. There is a need for new measures of family communication which are suitable for primary school-age children, and more guidance on the design and conduct of exploratory/feasibility trials. Originality/value: KAT achieved high rates of parental involvement, and its theoretical framework and processes could be adapted by other interventions which experience difficulties with recruitment of parents/carers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)
Health Education, 116(4) : 410-431
- Year: 2016
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Psychoeducation, Skills training, Other Psychological Interventions
LaBrie, J. W., Earle, A. M., Boyle, S. C., Hummer, J. F., Montes, K., Turrisi, R., Napper, L. E.
A randomized controlled trial tested an interactive normative feedback-based intervention - codenamed "FITSTART" - delivered to groups of 50-100 parents of matriculating college students. The 60-min session motivated parents to alter their alcohol-related communication by correcting normative misperceptions (e.g., about how approving other parents are of student drinking) with live-generated data. Then, tips were provided on discussing drinking effectively. Incoming students (N = 331; 62.2% female) completed baseline measures prior to new-student orientation. Next, at parent orientation in June, these students' parents were assigned to either FITSTART or a control session. Finally, 4 months later, students completed a follow-up survey. Results revealed that students whose parents received FITSTART during the summer consumed less alcohol and were less likely to engage in heavy episodic drinking (HED) during the first month of college. These effects were mediated by FITSTART students' lower perceptions of their parents' approval of alcohol consumption. Further, FITSTART students who were not drinkers in high school were less likely to initiate drinking and to start experiencing negative consequences during the first month of college, where FITSTART students who had been drinkers in high school experienced fewer consequences overall and were significantly more likely to report that they did not experience any consequences whatsoever during the first month of college. Importantly, FITSTART is the first parent-based intervention to impact HED, one of the most well-studied indicators of risky drinking. Thus, interactive group normative feedback with parents is a promising approach for reducing college alcohol risk. Copyright © 2016 American Psychological Association.
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30(5) : 523-535
- Year: 2016
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Service Delivery & Improvement, Psychological Interventions (any)
, Personalised feedback, normative feedback
, Other service delivery and improvement interventions
Leeman, R. F., Demartini, K. S., Gueorguieva, R., Nogueira, C., Corbin, W. R., Neighbors, C., O'Malley, S. S.
Objective: Tertiary Health Research Intervention via Email (THRIVE), a very brief, freely available, multicomponent Web-based alcohol intervention originally developed and tested among students in Australia and New Zealand, was tested in the United States. We also evaluated effects of systematically varying the protective behavioral strategies (PBS) component of the intervention to include shorter, focused lists of direct (e.g., alternating alcoholic with nonalcoholic drinks) or indirect (e.g., looking out for friends) strategies. Method: Undergraduates with past-month heavy drinking (N = 208) were randomized to education/assessment control or one of three U.S.-THRIVE variants, including direct PBS only, indirect PBS only, or full (direct and indirect PBS). Results: After 1 month, compared to the control condition, full condition participants reported fewer drinks per week (rate ratio [RR] = .62) and lower peak drinking (RR = .74). The indirect-only condition reported reduced peak drinking (RR = .74) and a trend toward fewer drinks per week (RR = .78). Changes in drinking relative to control were significant through 6 months for the full and indirect-only conditions. There were no significant differences between the direct-only and control conditions. U.S.-THRIVE was not associated with decreased heavy drinking or alcohol-related problems relative to control. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this was the first study to systematically vary the types of PBS provided in an intervention. Initial results suggest U.S.-THRIVE is efficacious. Compared to control, presenting indirect PBS only as part of U.S.-THRIVE was associated with lower drinks per week and peak past 30-day drinking. Targeting indirect PBS may be more appropriate for non-treatment-seeking young adults receiving a brief intervention. Copyright © 2016 American Psychological Association.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84(11) : 1008-1015
- Year: 2016
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Service Delivery & Improvement, Psychological Interventions (any)
, Psychoeducation, Other Psychological Interventions, Personalised feedback, normative feedback
, Technology, interventions delivered using technology (e.g. online, SMS)
Linowski, S. A., DiFulvio, G. T., Fedorchak, D., Puleo, E.
College student drinking continues to be a problem in the United States. Students who have violated campus alcohol policy are at particularly high risk for dangerous drinking. While Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) has been found to be an effective strategy in reducing high-risk drinking and associated consequences, questions remain about ways to further reduce risk or sustain changes associated with a face-to face intervention. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a computer-delivered personalized feedback (electronic booster) delivered to policy violators who completed a mandated BASICS program. At 3-month post-intervention, 346 participants (60.4% male and 39.6% female) were randomized to one of two conditions: assessment only (n=171) or electronic booster feedback (n=175). Follow-up assessments were given to all participants at 3, 6, and 12-month post-initial intervention. Both groups showed reductions in drinking after the in-person BASICS intervention, but no additional reductions were seen with the addition of an electronic booster session. Findings suggest that although brief motivational interventions delivered in person to mandated students have been shown to be effective with mandated students, there is no additional benefit from an electronic booster session delivered 3-month post-intervention for this population.
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016.
International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 36(2) : 123-9
- Year: 2016
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Service Delivery & Improvement, Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy, Other Psychological Interventions, Personalised feedback, normative feedback
, Technology, interventions delivered using technology (e.g. online, SMS), Other service delivery and improvement interventions
Mares, S. H. W.., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., Verdurmen, J., Schulten, I., Engels, R. C. M. E.
Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of a home-based alcohol prevention program to delay initiation of alcohol use in children.Methods. In 2011, a total of 1349 sixth-grade children (M = 12.15, SD = 0.47) and their mothers who could read and write Dutch were recruited from primary schools in the northern part of the Netherlands. They participated in a cluster randomized controlled trial with two conditions; (1) intervention group (5 modules which families received by mail every 4 weeks over 5 months), (2) control group (a factsheet information brochure). An independent statistician allocated the schools to the conditions (allocation ratio (1:1)). Participants and data-analyst were blind to randomization. The primary outcome was alcohol initiation.Results. Of the participants, 680 were randomized to the intervention and 669 to the control condition. In the intervention condition (N = 540) 5.4% of the children drank alcohol compared to 7.1% in the control condition (N = 601). The difference was not significant (OR =.99, 95% CI =.96-1.02, p = 52).Conclusion. The present study showed no effects of 'In control: No alcohol!' on alcohol initiation. A critical evaluation of program design and content, and future studies in different target groups, are suggested.The trial is registered at trialregister.nl, number NTR2474. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc.
Preventive Medicine, 88 : 224-229
- Year: 2016
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Other Psychological Interventions
Martin, J. L.
College students are a high risk group for heavy alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Brief, multicomponent motivational interviewing- based interventions that incorporate personalized feedback (PFIs) have been effective in reducing alcohol use among college students, but demonstrate small to moderate effect sizes (Cronce & Larimer, 2011). Little is known about which PFI component (s) are most effective in reducing alcohol use and problems. Drinking motives, particularly drinking to cope, exhibit consistently strong associations with heavy alcohol use and problems (Kuntsche et al., 2005), but have not been incorporated into any known PFIs. Hence, the purpose of this pilot study was to design and test the efficacy of a brief (50 min) in-person PFI with a component tailored to students who drink to cope. Participants were 63 undergraduate students from a large northeastern public university who drank alcohol in the past 30 days and scored at least one standard deviation higher than average on the coping subscale of the DMQ-R (Cooper, 1994). Participants were predominantly female (77.8%), their mean age was 19.89 years (SD = 1.89), and their race/ethnicity were as follows: 66.7% White, 12.7% Black/African American, 9.5% Hispanic/Latino(a), 7.9% Asian/ Asian American, and 3.2 Biracial/Multiracial. Participants were 27% freshmen, 26.4% sophomores, 28.6% juniors, and 17.5% seniors. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: PFI, a standard intervention modeled after BASICS (Dimeff et al., 1999), PFI-C which was identical to the PFI condition except for the additional component providing feedback on drinking to cope and coping alternatives, and an assessment only condition (AO). All participants included in the analysis completed baseline and six-week follow-up questionnaires. Results indicated that at baseline there were no significant differences across the three groups on age, gender, or any of the alcohol-related outcome variables. There was a significant difference between the PFI and AO groups in year in school, but since year in school was not associated with any of the outcome variables it was not controlled for in subsequent analyses. A series of Time x Group (2 x 3) repeated measures ANOVAs revealed significant interaction effects for time on drinks per week, F(2, 60) = 3.23, p < 0.05, and peak drinks, F(2, 60) = 3.98, p < 0.05. Participants in the PFI and the PFI-C conditions showed similar relatively large reductions (within-group partial eta squared = 0.17 and 0.16 respectively; Kline, 2004) in drinks per week at follow-up, whereas participants in the AO condition did not demonstrate a significant reduction. Participants in the PFI condition showed a significant and large reduction (i.e., within group partial eta squared = 0.17) in peak drinks at 6 week follow-up. Although participants in the PFI-C and AO conditions also decreased their peak drinks the differences were not statistically significant. There was a significant main effect for time on binge drinking, F(1, 59) = 11.53, p < 0.01, demonstrating that participants in all three conditions decreased the number of times they engaged in binge drinking 6 weeks post-intervention or assessment. There were no significant effects for alcohol-related problems. Findings indicate that the PFI-C shows promise in reducing alcohol use among college students and warrants further research.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 40 : 64A
- Year: 2016
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Service Delivery & Improvement, Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy, Personalised feedback, normative feedback
Prince, M. A., Maisto, S. A.
Although norms-based interventions are widely used and are known to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences in college students, more research is needed to examine the psychological processes underlying observed behavior changes. Rooted in Cognitive Dissonance Theory, some research has provided support for changes in actual-ideal drinking discrepancy (AID) and negative affect (NA) as potential mechanisms of behavior change in response to descriptive norms (DN) feedback. In addition, a recent review identified changes in DN to have the best support as a mechanism of behavior change (MOBC) following brief interventions for college drinking. The current study examined 4 potential MOBCs, namely, changes in DN, injunctive norms (IN), AID, and NA, following a brief motivational intervention (BMI) that targeted either DN, IN, or both DN+IN. A sample of 155 college students completed either a BMI or an assessment only control condition, and 133 students completed a 4- to 6-week follow-up. Kazdin and Nock (2007) identify the requirements for establishing a construct as aMOBC. In reference to these criteria, each of the 4 constructs tested were plausible, were measured temporally before the outcome, were specifically targeted by the intervention content, and were measured in the context of a controlled clinical trial. All three active conditions produced similar effects on each proposed MOBC and thus were considered together. There was evidence for DN and IN mediating the relationship between condition (active vs. control) and alcohol related consequences (ARC). However, only DN mediated the relationship between condition and typical drinks per week (tDPW). Neither AID nor NA mediated the relationships between condition and ARC or tDPW. Most often the mediation failed because of a lack of association between the mediator and the outcome. The current study provides additional support for DN as a MOBC for both ARC and tDPW, and provides preliminary support for IN as a mechanism of change for ARC but not tDPW. Many studies have failed to demonstrate intervention efficacy to change mechanisms, but find that changes in mechanisms facilitate changes in outcomes. In contrast, the current study found that the active interventions changed the mechanisms but that those changes did not result in behavior change for AID and NA.
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 40 : 127A
- Year: 2016
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy, Personalised feedback, normative feedback
Miller, M. B., Leavens, E. L., Meier, E., Lombardi, N., Leffingwell, T. R.
Objective: Personalized feedback interventions (PFIs) have been associated with decreased alcohol consumption and related problems among college students; however, the necessary and sufficient components responsible for efficacy remain unclear. The present study investigated the relative efficacy of 3 computerized PFIs with differing content, the content-specific mechanisms of change within PFIs, and the moderating roles of comparison orientation and baseline risk in intervention outcomes. Method: College students (N = 212) reporting alcohol use in a typical week completed an assessment prior to randomization (norms PFI, enhanced PFI, choice PFI, assessment only) and 1 month postintervention. Results: Participants who received a PFI reported greater decreases in alcohol use, peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC), related problems, and perceptions of typical students' drinking than those in the control group. Neither tendency to compare oneself with others nor baseline risk moderated outcomes. PFIs influenced weekly alcohol use indirectly through changes in descriptive normative perceptions and alcohol-related consequences indirectly through changes in peak BAC. Conclusions: Computerized PFIs are more effective than assessment alone in decreasing alcohol use and related problems among college students. Normative comparisons may be sufficient to elicit behavior change, and inclusion of select additional components may not yield significant improvements in outcomes. However, the consistent benefit of including feedback on physical and monetary costs of drinking and moderation strategies, although nonsignificant, may warrant the negligible increase in time and money required to provide such information electronically. Computerized PFIs seem to be an ideal first step to the prevention and treatment of college alcohol misuse. Copyright © 2016 APA, all rights reserved.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84(2) : 122-133
- Year: 2016
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Service Delivery & Improvement, Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy, Personalised feedback, normative feedback
, Technology, interventions delivered using technology (e.g. online, SMS)