Disorders - Alcohol Use
Ridout, B.
Research consistently shows that college students overestimate peer alcohol use, resulting in them 'drinking up' to these misperceived norms. Social norms theory suggests correcting these misperceptions can reduce alcohol consumption, especially if students are also provided with personalised normative feedback (PNF) on how their own drinking compares with their peers. Alcohol is a common feature of adolescent identity exploration, yet there is a dearth of research into how misperceived drinking norms interact with adolescent identity construction. The rise of social media has fundamentally changed the conditions of adolescent identity construction. Recent findings by the current author show portraying oneself as 'a drinker' is a socially desirable component of Facebook identity, perpetuating an online culture that normalizes binge drinking. Given the ubiquity of social media and the effect it has on adolescents' attitudes and behavior, it is surprising that no studies to date have sought to utilize the considerable influence of social media to correct the overestimation of peer drinking norms. The current study aimed to address this gap by testing the feasibility of delivering a PNF intervention using Facebook. The actual and perceived descriptive and injunctive drinking norms of 244 university students from a single unit of study were collected. Ninety-five students screened positive for hazardous drinking and were randomly allocated to a control group or intervention group that received PNF via Facebook private messages. One month post-intervention, the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumed by the intervention group during the previous month had significantly reduced compared to baseline and controls. Reductions were maintained 3 months post-intervention. Peer drinking norms as perceived by the intervention group were significantly more accurate post-intervention. Improvements in norm accuracy were positively associated with reductions in participants' own alcohol consumption. This is the first study to use Facebook to deliver a social norms intervention, resulting in clinically significant reductions in alcohol use. Facebook has many advantages over traditional social norms intervention delivery and provides an innovative method for tackling problem drinking at college. These results have implications for the role social media may play in future alcohol-reduction strategies aiming to create cultural change around heavy drinking.
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, 39 : 292A
- Year: 2015
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Service Delivery & Improvement, Psychological Interventions (any)
, Personalised feedback, normative feedback
, Technology, interventions delivered using technology (e.g. online, SMS)
Pedrelli, P., Borsari, B.
Almost half of college students in the US report engaging in heavy episodic drinking (HED), a behavior associated with increased risk for physical injury, sexual and/or physical assault, driving while intoxicated, suicidal behavior and death. Many students report drinking heavily in order to cope with aversive mood states and HED is more frequent among students with depressive symptoms. This combination of depressive symptoms and the use of alcohol to cope with them increases risk for negative consequences and worsening long-term impairment. However, no empirically supported treatments are available for students with depressive symptoms who report concurrent HED. To address this gap, we developed a treatment program integrating a Brief Motivational Intervention (BMI) with an empirically supported treatment for depressive symptoms, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This presentation will discuss the development and current evidence of its effectiveness in an ongoing randomized controlled trial. Participants are undergraduate students reporting mild to severe depressive symptoms and HED who are randomized to eight therapy sessions of (i) CBT Depression or (ii) CBT-Depression + BMI. To date, 19 undergraduate college students (84% females, Age = 19.6 + 1.3) have completed the trial and an additional 10 students are undergoing treatment. Preliminary results indicate that CBT + BMI is feasible, is associated with better alcohol outcome than CBT alone (Cohen's d = 0.71 vs. 0.51) and with less reduction of depressive symptoms (Cohen's d = 1.30 vs. 1.51). Additionally, BMI + CBT is associated with greater improvement in problem solving skills (Cohen's d = 0.86 vs. d = 0.18) and readiness to change (Cohen's d = 0.42 vs. d = 0.35). Increase during the course of treatment in seeking social support as a coping strategy is associated with decrease in HED (r = 0.49, p = 0.03). Decrease in drinking to cope is directly associated with a decrease in weekly drinks (r = 0.49; p = 0.04) and inversely related with coping with an aggressive style (r = -0.71, p < 0.01). Changes in depressive symptoms and alcohol consumption were not associated with each other. Preliminary findings suggest that an integrated intervention may be more beneficial to reduce hazardous drinking among college students with co-occurring symptoms. Moreover, focusing on enhancing social support as well as problem solving skills and lowering aggressive coping may be mechanisms of the observed effects.
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, 39 : 269A
- Year: 2015
- Problem: Depressive Disorders, Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy
Penetar, D. M., Toto, L. H., Lee, D. Y. W., Lukas, S. E.
Background: Overconsumption of alcohol has significant negative effects on an individual's health and contributes to an enormous economic impact on society as a whole. Pharmacotherapies to curb excessive drinking are important for treating alcohol use disorders. Methods: Twenty (20) men participated in a placebo-controlled, double-blind, between subjects design experiment (n= 10/group) that tested the effects of kudzu extract (Alkontrol-Herbal™) for its ability to alter alcohol consumption in a natural settings laboratory. A single dose of kudzu extract (2. g total with an active isoflavone content of 520. mg) or placebo was administered 2.5. h before the onset of a 90. min afternoon drinking session during which participants had the opportunity to drink up to 6 beers ad libitum; water and juice were always available as alternative beverages. Results: During the baseline session, the placebo-randomized group consumed 2.7 ± 0.78 beers before treatment and increased consumption to 3.4 ± 1.1 beers after treatment. The kudzu group significantly reduced consumption from 3.0 ± 1.7 at baseline to 1.9 ± 1.3 beers after treatment. The placebo-treated group opened 33 beers during baseline conditions and 38 following treatment whereas the kudzu-treated group opened 32 beers during baseline conditions and only 21 following treatment. Additionally, kudzu-treated participants drank slower. Conclusion: This is the first demonstration that a single dose of kudzu extract quickly reduces alcohol consumption in a binge drinking paradigm. These data add to the mounting clinical evidence that kudzu extract may be a safe and effective adjunctive pharmacotherapy for alcohol abuse and dependence.
Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 153 : 194-200
- Year: 2015
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Complementary & Alternative Interventions (CAM)
, Homeopathic, plant-based medicines
Pidd, K., Roche, A., Fischer, J.,
Aims: Workforce entry is a key transition period. It offers an ideal, but under-utilised opportunity to implement intervention strategies to prevent mental health and substance use problems among young people. A brief psychological wellbeing and substance use intervention targeting a high-risk group - apprentice chefs-was undertaken to explore this opportunity. Method: A RCT design (N = 71) was used. The intervention group received two face-to-face sessions, and controls received five related information sheets during the first 2 weeks of training, with 4-month follow-up. Results: These apprentices were a high-risk group for alcohol and other drug harm and poor psychological wellbeing. At T1, 70% of the participants had AUDIT scores indicating problem drinking; 28% had used cannabis and 18% had used amphetamines in the last 12 months; and 24% had high K10 scores. At T2, the intervention group had significantly reduced risky alcohol use (p = 0.008), improved psychological distress (p = 0.045) and ability to talk with supervisors about work issues (p = 0.001) and cope with work stress (p = 0.001) and verbal abuse (p = 0.005), compared to the control group. Conclusions: Brief tailored interventions, delivered in an occupational training environment, have potential to reduce substance use risk and enhance young workers' psychological wellbeing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy, 22(4) : 352-361
- Year: 2015
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Skills training, Other Psychological Interventions
Prince, M. A., Maisto, S. A., Rice, S. L., Carey, K. B.
Findings are presented from the first randomized clinical trial that compared changes in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences among college student drinkers from baseline to follow-up across 4 conditions: (a) a new single component injunctive norms brief motivational intervention (IN-BMI) condition; (b) a single component descriptive norms brief motivational intervention (DN-BMI); (c) a combined IN and DN brief motivational intervention (Combined-BMI); and (d) assessment-only control. DN-BMI focused on the juxtaposition of personal, perceived, and actual alcohol use by typical same-sex students at your university. IN-BMI focused on the juxtaposition of personal, perceived, and actual attitudes about alcohol-related consequences by the typical same-sex student at your university. Exploratory analyses assessed the effect of IN-BMI and DN-BMI on matched (e.g., the effect of DN-BMI on perceived DN) and mismatched norms (e.g., the effect of DN-BMI on perceived IN). IN-BMI resulted in greater decreases in alcohol use and consequences when delivered alone and in conjunction with DN-BMI compared with the control condition. Further, the Combined-BMI condition reported greater reductions in alcohol use but not consequences compared to the DN condition. Receiving IN-BMI either alone or in combination with DN-BMI produced greater changes in IN perceptions than were produced in the control group. Grounded in norms theory, this study examined how college student problem drinking is affected by both IN-BMI and DN-BMI alone and in combination. We conclude that IN-BMI alone or in combination with DN-BMI is able to modify alcohol use and reduce alcohol-related consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record; (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).
Psychology Of Addictive Behaviors: Journal Of The Society Of Psychologists In Addictive Behaviors, 29(4) : 825-835
- Year: 2015
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy, Personalised feedback, normative feedback
O'Malley, S. S., Corbin, W. R., Leeman, R. F., DeMartini, K. S., Fucito, L. M., Ikomi, J., Romano, D. M., Wu, R., Toll, B. A., Sher, K. J., Gueorguieva, R., Kranzler, H. R.,
Objective: Naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, may facilitate reduction in drinking among young adults. We compared the efficacy and safety of naltrexone administered daily plus targeted dosing with placebo to reduce drinking in young adults who engage in heavy drinking. Method: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted in an outpatient research center in March 2008-January 2012. Participants were aged 18-25 years and reported ≥ 4 heavy drinking days in the prior 4 weeks. Interventions included naltrexone 25 mg daily plus 25 mg targeted (at most daily) in anticipation of drinking (n = 61) or daily/targeted placebo (n = 67). All participants received a personalized feedback session and brief counseling every other week. Primary outcomes were percent heavy drinking days and percent days abstinent over the 8-week treatment period. Secondary outcomes included number of drinks per drinking day and percentage of days with estimated blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels ≥ 0.08 g/dL. Results: Of 140 randomized patients, 128 began treatment, comprising the evaluable sample. During treatment, percent heavy drinking days (naltrexone: mean = 21.60, SD = 16.05; placebo: mean = 22.90, SD = 13.20) (P = .58) and percent days abstinent (naltrexone: mean = 56.60, SD = 22.52; placebo: mean = 62.50, SD = 15.75) (P = .39) did not differ by group. Naltrexone significantly reduced the number of drinks per drinking day (naltrexone: mean = 4.90, SD = 2.28; placebo: mean = 5.90, SD = 2.51) (P = .009) and percentage of drinking days with estimated BAC ≥ 0.08 g/dL (naltrexone: mean = 35.4, SD = 28.40; placebo: mean = 45.7, SD = 26.80) (P = .042). There were no serious adverse events. Sleepiness was more common with naltrexone. Conclusions: Naltrexone did not reduce frequency of drinking or heavy drinking days, but reduced secondary measures of drinking intensity. While effects were modest, the risk-benefit ratio favors offering naltrexone to help young adult heavy drinkers reduce the amount of alcohol they drink.
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 76(2) : e207-e213
- Year: 2015
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Biological Interventions (any)
, Medications used to treat substance abuse
Merz, V., Baptista, J., Haller, D. M.
Background: Brief interventions addressing harmful alcohol use in adults admitted to emergency wards have been shown to be effective. The evidence in relation to interventions aimed at adolescents is less conclusive. Young adults share developmental characteristics with adolescents, while receiving care in adult services. We conducted a systematic review to assess the effectiveness of interventions to reduce the recurrence of alcohol-related events and their consequences in young adults (18-24 years) admitted to an emergency ward following alcohol intoxication.; Methods: We followed PRISMA guidelines to conduct this review. We searched Medline, Embase, Cochrane and PsychINFO, until March 2014. We included randomised trials of brief interventions aimed at young adults admitted to an emergency ward following an alcohol-related event. Two investigators independently selected, analysed, rated and summarised the evidence from relevant studies.; Results: Four trials (n=618) were included, comparing a brief motivational interview with usual care (2 trials), personalised feedback or an educational brochure. In two studies, motivational interview was significantly associated with a reduction in alcohol-use while two studies showed no effect attributable to the intervention. Successful interventions were either delivered at a distance from the event or included booster sessions. Motivational interview favoured a reduction in alcohol-related problems in all but one study. Benefits were sustained over 12 months.; Conclusions: The evidence is inconclusive, but the most effective interventions include at least one therapeutic contact several days after the event. Further research should provide more guidance about effective interventions in this age-group as well as about ways to favour delayed attendance for treatment. The potential role of parents or peers in supporting treatment also warrants further attention.; Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.
Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 69(9) : 912-917
- Year: 2015
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Systematic reviews
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy
Moss, A. C., Albery, I. P., Dyer, K. R., Frings, D., Humphreys, K., Inkelaar, T., Harding, E., Speller, A.
Aims: Four experiments were conducted to assess the acute impact of context and exposure to responsible drinking messages (RDMs) on attentional allocation and drinking behaviour of younger drinkers and to explore the utility of lab-based methods for the evaluation of such materials. Methods: A simulated bar environment was used to examine the impact of context, RDM posters, and brief online responsible drinking advice on actual drinking behaviour. Experiments one (n. =. 50) and two (n. =. 35) comprised female non-problem drinkers, whilst Experiments three (n. =. 80) and 4 (n. =. 60) included a mixed-gender sample of non-problem drinkers, recruited from an undergraduate student cohort. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to assess drinking patterns. Alcohol intake was assessed through the use of a taste preference task. Results: Drinking in a simulated bar was significantly greater than in a laboratory setting in the first two studies, but not in the third. There was a significant increase in alcohol consumption as a result of being exposed to RDM posters. Provision of brief online RDM reduced the negative impact of these posters somewhat; however the lowest drinking rates were associated with being exposed to neither posters nor brief advice. Data from the final experiment demonstrated a low level of visual engagement with RDMs, and that exposure to posters was associated with increased drinking. Conclusions: Poster materials promoting responsible drinking were associated with increased consumption amongst undergraduate students, suggesting that poster campaigns to reduce alcohol harms may be having the opposite effect to that intended. Findings suggest that further research is required to refine appropriate methodologies for assessing drinking behaviour in simulated drinking environments, to ensure that future public health campaigns of this kind are having their intended effect.
Addictive Behaviors, 44 : 94-101
- Year: 2015
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Service Delivery & Improvement, Psychological Interventions (any)
, Psychoeducation, Technology, interventions delivered using technology (e.g. online, SMS)
Mason, M., Light, J., Campbell, L., Keyser-Marcus, L., Crewe, S., Way, T., Saunders, H., King, L., Zaharakis, N. M., McHenry, C.
Close peer networks can affect adolescents' health behaviors by altering their social environments, and thus their risk for and protection against substance use involvement. We tested a 20. minute intervention named Peer Network Counseling that integrates motivational interviewing and peer network strategies with 119 urban adolescents who reported occasional or problem substance use. Adolescents presenting at primary care clinic were randomized to intervention or control conditions and followed for 6. months. Mixed-effect latent growth models were used to evaluate intervention effects on trajectories of alcohol and marijuana use, offers to use substances, and moderation models to test for interactions between intervention condition and peer network characteristics. A significant intervention effect was found for boys for offers to use alcohol from friends (p < .05), along with a trend significant effect for alcohol use (p < .08). Intervention was more effective in reducing marijuana use, vs. control, for participants with more peer social support (p< .001) and with more peer encouragement for prosocial behavior (school, clubs, sports, religious activities); however, intervention did not affect these network characteristics. Results provide support to continue this line of research to test brief interventions that activate protective peer network characteristics among at-risk adolescents, while also raising some interesting gender-based intervention questions for future research.
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 58 : 16-24
- Year: 2015
- Problem: Alcohol Use, Cannabis Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy, Other Psychological Interventions, Personalised feedback, normative feedback
Kohler, S., Hofmann, A.
Aims: We investigate the effect of motivational interviewing (MI), delivered in a brief intervention during an emergency care contact, on the alcohol consumption of young people who screen positively for present or previous risky alcohol consumption. Methods: MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX and Scopus were searched for randomized controlled trials with adolescents or young adults that compared MI in an emergency care setting to control conditions and measured drinking outcomes. Results: Six trials with 1433 participants, aged 13-25 years, were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. MI was never less efficacious than a control intervention. Two trials found significantly more reduction in one or more measures of alcohol consumption in the MI intervention group. One trial indicated that MI may be used most effectively in young people with high-volume alcohol consumption. Separate random effects meta-analyses were performed based on the highest impact that MI added on reducing the drinking frequency and the drinking quantity at any point in time during the different study periods. Their results were expressed as standardized mean differences (SMDs). The frequency of drinking alcohol decreased significantly more after MI than after control interventions (SMD ≤ 10.17, P ≤ 0.03). In addition, MI reduced the drinking quantity further than control interventions in a meta-analysis of the subset of trials that were implemented in the USA (SMD = -0.12, P = 0.04). Meta-analyses of the smallest mean differences between MI and control groups detected no differences in alcohol use (SMD ≤ 0.02, P ≤ 0.38). Conclusion: MI appears at least as effective and may possibly be more effective than other brief interventions in emergency care to reduce alcohol consumption in young people.
Alcohol & Alcoholism, 50(2) : 107-117
- Year: 2015
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Systematic reviews
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy
Malmberg, M., Kleinjan, M., Overbeek, G., Vermulst, A., Lammers, J., Monshouwer, K., Vollebergh, W.A., Engels, R.C.
Aim: To assess the effectiveness of the Healthy School and Drugs (HSD) program for secondary schools on the development of substance use among Dutch early adolescents and to explore whether boys, adolescents of lower educational backgrounds, or adolescents high on personality risk traits, would benefit more from the HSD program than others. Design: Randomized clustered trial with two intervention conditions (i.e., lessons and integral) among a general population of adolescents in the Netherlands. Participants: A total of 3784 students of 23 Dutch secondary schools. Measurements: Structured digital questionnaires were administered pre-intervention and at 8, 20, and 32months follow-ups. The outcome measure was the rate of change in substance use across follow-ups. Differential effectiveness of the HSD program was examined for sex, educational level, and personality traits. Findings: Our results show no HSD intervention effects on the development of substance use. Sex, education level, and personality characteristics of the participants did not moderate the intervention effects. Conclusion: The absence of effects of the Healthy School and Drugs program on the development of substance use indicates that the program should be renewed and redeveloped. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Addictive Behaviors, 42 : 194-202
- Year: 2015
- Problem: Alcohol Use, Cannabis Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Psychoeducation, Other Psychological Interventions
Logan, D. E., Kilmer, J. R., King, K. M., Larimer, M. E.
Objective: This study investigated the effectiveness of three single-session interventions with high-risk mandated students while considering the influence of motivational interviewing (MI) microskills.; Method: This randomized, controlled pilot trial evaluated single-session interventions: Alcohol Skills Training Program (ASTP), Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) feedback sessions, and treatment-as-usual Alcohol Diversion Program (ADP) educational groups. Participants were 61 full-time undergraduates at a southern U.S. campus sanctioned to a clinical program following violation of an on-campus alcohol policy (Mage = 19.16 years; 42.6% female).; Results: RESULTS revealed a significant effect of time for reductions in estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) and number of weekly drinks but not in alcohol-related consequences. Although ASTP and BASICS participants reported significant decreases in eBAC over time, ADP participant levels did not change (with no intervention effects on quantity or consequences). MI microskills were not related to outcomes.; Conclusions: RESULTS from this study suggest equivalent behavioral impacts for the MI-based interventions, although individual differences in outcome trajectories suggest that research is needed to further customize mandated interventions. Given the overall decrease in eBAC following the sanction, the lack of reduction in the ADP condition warrants caution when using education-only interventions.;
Journal of Studies on Alcohol & Drugs, 76(1) : 31-37
- Year: 2015
- 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, Psychoeducation, Skills training, Personalised feedback, normative feedback