Disorders - Alcohol Use
Amaro, H., Ahl, M., Matsumoto, A., Prado, G., Mule, C., Kemmemer, A., Larimer, M. E., et-al
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a brief intervention for mandated students in the context of the University Assistance Program, a Student Assistance Program developed and modeled after workplace Employee Assistance Programs. METHOD: Participants were 265 (196 males and 69 females) judicially mandated college students enrolled in a large, urban university in the northeast United States. All participants were sanctioned by the university's judicial office for an alcohol- or drug-related violation. Participants were randomized to one of two intervention conditions (the University Assistance Program or services as usual) and were assessed at baseline and 3 and 6 months after intervention. RESULTS: Growth curve analyses showed that, relative to services as usual, the University Assistance Program was more efficacious in reducing past-90-day weekday alcohol consumption and the number of alcohol-related consequences while increasing past-90-day use of protective behaviors and coping skills. No significant differences in growth trajectories were found between the two intervention conditions on past-90-day blood alcohol concentration, total alcohol consumption, or weekend consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The University Assistance Program may have a possible advantage over services as usual for mandated students.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol & Drugs. Supplement, (16) : 45-56
- Year: 2009
- 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, Skills training, Other Psychological Interventions
Doumas, Diana M., Hannah, Elizabeth
This study evaluated the efficacy of an alcohol web-based personalized feedback program delivered in the workplace to young adults. Participants (N = 124) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: web-based feedback (WI), web-based feedback plus a 15-minute motivational interviewing session (MI), or a control group. Results indicated that participants in the intervention group (WI and MI conditions combined) reported significantly lower levels of drinking than those in the control group at a 30-day follow-up. This was particularly true for participants classified as high-risk drinkers at the baseline assessment. Similar results were found when comparing the WI condition to the control group. No differences were found between the WI and MI conditions, indicating that the addition of a 15-minute motivational interviewing session did not increase the efficacy of the web-based feedback program. Findings support the use of web-based feedback as a stand-alone alcohol prevention program for young adults in the workplace. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 34(3) : 263-271
- Year: 2008
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal 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)
Deas, Deborah
The prevalence of adolescent alcohol use and its related consequences underscore the need for evidenced-based treatments in this population. During the past decade, much progress has been made in treating adolescent alcohol use disorders with evidenced-based modalities developed specifically for adolescents. Controlled treatment outcome studies that compared >=1 modality, used random assignment to treatment conditions, and were published between 1990 and 2004 are discussed in this review. Psychosocial treatments such as family-based interventions, motivational enhancement therapy (motivational interviewing), behavioral therapy, and cognitive-behavioral therapy, as well as the limited pharmacotherapy studies, are discussed. All of the studies used assessment tools validated for use in adolescent populations. Overall, great strides have been made in the area of adolescent alcohol treatment, and the treatment modalities presented have more than adequate potential for replication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Pediatrics, 121(Suppl4) : S348-S354
- Year: 2008
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Systematic reviews
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Biological Interventions (any)
, Psychological Interventions (any)
Kaminer, Y., Burleson, J.A., Burke, R.H.
OBJECTIVE:
Relapse rates for treated adolescents with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) amount to approximately 60% at 3 to 6 months after treatment completion. This randomized controlled study tested the hypothesis that active aftercare may maintain treatment gains better than no active aftercare (NA).
METHOD:
A total of 177 adolescents, 13 to 18 years of age, diagnosed with DSM-IV AUD, participated in nine weekly outpatient cognitive behavioral therapy group sessions. The 144 treatment completers were randomized into a 5-session in-person, brief telephone, or NA condition. Three alcohol use variables were the main outcome measures for 130 aftercare completers.
RESULTS:
At the end of aftercare, the likelihood of relapse increased significantly compared with end of treatment outcomes. The likelihood of relapse for youths in NA, however, increased significantly more for youths in combined active aftercare (AA) conditions (p =.008). This effect was driven primarily by a significant sex x active aftercare interaction: girls showed no significant relapse under AA but relapsed significantly in NA. Youths enrolled in AA also showed significantly fewer drinking days (p =.044) and fewer heavy drinking days (p =.035) per month relative to NA.
CONCLUSIONS:
In general, active aftercare interventions showed certain efficacy in slowing the expected posttreatment relapse process for alcohol use, with maintenance of treatment gains only for girls. Frequency of interventions, dose-response, duration of aftercare phase, and mediators of behavior change should be examined further to optimize aftercare for youths with AUD.
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 47(12) : 1405-1412
- Year: 2008
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Relapse prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy
Koutakis, Nikolaus, Stattin, Hakan, Kerr, Margaret
Aims To evaluate a 2.5-year prevention programme working through parents, targeting drinking among 13–16-year-olds. Design Quasi-experimental using matched controls with a pre–post, intention-to-treat design. Setting Schools located in inner city, public housing and small town areas. Participants A total of 900 pupils entering junior high school and their parents, followed longitudinally. Intervention Parents received information by mail and during parent meetings in schools urging them to: (i) maintain strict attitudes against youth alcohol use and (ii) encourage their youth's involvement in adult-led, organized activities. Measurements Evaluation of the implementation used measures of parental attitudes against underage drinking and youths' participation in organized activities. Outcomes were youths' drunkenness and delinquency. Findings The implementation successfully influenced parents' attitudes against underage drinking, but not youth participation in organized activities. At post-test, youths in the intervention group reported less drunkenness and delinquency. Effect sizes were 0.35 for drunkenness and 0.38 for delinquency. Findings were similar for boys and girls and for early starters. Effects were not moderated by community type. Conclusions Working via parents proved to be an effective way to reduce underage drinking as well as delinquency. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR
Addiction, 103(10) : 1629-1637
- Year: 2008
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Other Psychological Interventions
Kypri, K., Langley, J. D., Saunders, J. B., Cashell-Smith, M. L., Herbison, P.
Background: There is compelling evidence supporting screening and brief intervention (SBI) for hazardous drinking, yet it remains underused in primary health care. Electronic (computer or Web-based) SBI (e-SBI) offers the prospects of ease and economy of access. We sought to determine whether e-SBI reduces hazardous drinking. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial in a university primary health care service. Participants were 975 students (age range, 17-29 years) screened using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Of 599 students who scored in the hazardous or harmful range, 576 (300 of whom were women) consented to the trial and were randomized to receive an information pamphlet (control group), a Web-based motivational intervention (single-dose e-SBI group), or a Web-based motivational intervention with further interventions 1 and 6 months later (multidose e-SBI group). Results: Relative to the control group, the single-dose e-SBI group at 6 months reported a lower frequency of drinking (rate ratio [RR], 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68-0.94), less total consumption (RR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.63-0.95), and fewer academic problems (RR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.64-0.91). At 12 months, statistically significant differences in total consumption (RR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.63-0.95 [equivalent to 3.5 standard drinks per week]) and in academic problems (RR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.66-0.97) remained, and the AUDIT scores were 2.17 (95% CI, ?1.10 to ?3.24) points lower. Relative to the control group, the multidose e-SBI group at 6 months reported a lower frequency of drinking (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73-0.98), less total consumption (RR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.64-0.97 [equivalent to 3.0 standard drinks per week]), reduced episodic heavy drinking (RR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.45-0.93), and fewer academic problems (RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.65-0.93). At 12 months, statistically significant differences in academic problems remained (RR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.62-0.90), while the AUDIT scores were 2.02 (95% CI, ?0.97 to ?3.10) points lower. Conclusions: Single-dose e-SBI reduces hazardous drinking, and the effect lasts 12 months. Additional sessions seem not to enhance the effect. Trial Registration: www.anzctr.org.au Identifier: ACTRN012607000103460. copyright2008 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
Archives of Internal Medicine, 168(5) : 530-536
- Year: 2008
- 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)
Komro, Kelli A., Perry, Cheryl L., Veblen-Mortenson, Sara, Farbakhsh, Kian, Toomey, Traci L., Stigler, Melissa H., Jones-Webb, Rhonda, et-al
Aims: The goal of this group-randomized trial was to test the effectiveness of an adapted alcohol use preventive intervention for urban, low-income and multi-ethnic settings. Design and setting: Sixty-one public schools in Chicago were recruited to participate, were grouped into neighborhood study units and assigned randomly to intervention or 'delayed program' control condition. Participants: The study sample (n = 5812 students) was primarily African American, Hispanic and low-income. Intervention: Students, beginning in sixth grade (age 12 years), received 3 years of intervention strategies (curricula, family interventions, youth-led community service projects, community organizing). Measurements: Students participated in yearly classroom-based surveys to measure their alcohol use and related risk and protective factors. Additional evaluation components included a parent survey, a community leader survey and alcohol purchase attempts. Findings: Overall, the intervention, compared with a control condition receiving 'prevention as usual', was not effective in reducing alcohol use, drug use or any hypothesized mediating variables (i.e. related risk and protective factors). There was a non-significant trend (P = 0.066) that suggested the ability to purchase alcohol by young-appearing buyers was reduced in the intervention communities compared to the control communities, but this could be due to chance. Secondary outcome analyses to assess the effects of each intervention component indicated that the home-based programs were associated with reduced alcohol, marijuana and tobacco use combined (P = 0.01), with alcohol use alone approaching statistical significance (P = 0.06). Conclusions: Study results indicate the importance of conducting evaluations of previously validated programs in contexts that differ from the original study sample. Also, the findings highlight the need for further research with urban, low-income adolescents from different ethnic backgrounds to identify effective methods to prevent and reduce alcohol use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Addiction, 103(4) : 606-618
- Year: 2008
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Other Psychological Interventions
Watt, Kerrianne, Shepherd, Jonathan, Newcombe, Robert
To assess the effectiveness of an alcohol brief intervention administered to violent offenders in a judicial (Magistrates' court) setting, a randomised controlled trial was conducted. Participants (n = 269) were men aged 16-35 years, who resided within a 30-mile radius of Cardiff, UK, and who had been sentenced for a violent offence committed whilst intoxicated with alcohol. Recruitment occurred on-site. Participants were randomly allocated to receive an alcohol brief intervention (n = 135) or to a control group (n = 134). Objective measures comprised re-offending and injury rates. Self-reported outcome measures comprised Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT); number of drinking days in the past 3 months; total weekly standard units of alcohol; and stage of change with respect to alcohol consumption (as measured by the Readiness to Change Questionnaire). Participants were followed up 3 months (n = 234; 87%) and 12 months (n = 202; 75.1%) after sentence. No significant between-group differences were observed in any of the alcohol measures or in re-offending. Injury was significantly less likely in offenders who had received the intervention (27.4%) than those who had not [39.6%; 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.23, -0.009]. At 3-month follow-up, significantly more participants in the intervention group (31%; n = 37) than control group (16%; n = 18) demonstrated an increase in their readiness to change drinking behaviour (chi superscript 2 = 8.56; df = 2; P = 0.014), but this did not persist at 12-month follow-up. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Journal of Experimental Criminology, 4(1) : 1-19
- Year: 2008
- 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
White, Helene Raskin, Mun, Eun Young, Morgan, Thomas J.
Studies evaluating the efficacy of brief interventions with mandated college students have reported declines in drinking from baseline to short-term follow-up regardless of intervention condition. A key question is whether these observed changes are due to the intervention or to the incident and/or reprimand. This study evaluates a brief personalized feedback intervention (PFI) for students (N = 230) who were referred to a student assistance program because of infractions of university rules regarding substance use to determine whether observed changes in substance use are attributable to the intervention. Half the students received immediate feedback (at baseline and after the 2-month follow-up), and half received delayed feedback (only after the 2-month follow-up). Students in both conditions generally reduced their drinking and alcohol-related problems from baseline to the 2-month follow-up and from the 2-month to the 7-month follow-up; however, there were no significant between-group differences at either follow-up. Therefore, it appears that the incident and/or reprimand are important instigators of mandated student change and that written PFIs do not enhance these effects on a short-term basis but may on a longer term basis.
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22(1) : 107-16
- Year: 2008
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Personalised feedback, normative feedback
LaBrie, Joseph W, Huchting, Karen, Tawalbeh, Summer, Pedersen, Eric R., Thompson, Alysha D., Shelesky, Kristin, Larimer, Mary, et-al
Alcohol consumption among college students has become an increasing problem that requires attention from college administrators, staff, and researchers. Despite the physiological differences between men and women, college women are drinking at increasingly risky rates, placing them at increased risk for negative consequences. The current study tested a group motivational enhancement approach to the prevention of heavy drinking among 1st-year college women. Using a randomized design, the authors assigned participants either to a group that received a single-session motivational enhancement intervention to reduce risky drinking that focused partly on women's specific reasons for drinking (n = 126) or to an assessment-only control group (n = 94). Results indicated that, relative to the control group participants, intervention participants drank fewer drinks per week, drank fewer drinks at peak consumption events, and had fewer alcohol-related consequences over a 10-week follow-up. Further, the intervention, which targeted women's reasons for drinking, was more effective in reducing consumption for participants with high social and enhancement motivations for drinking.
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22(1) : 149-55
- Year: 2008
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy
McCambridge, J., Day, M.
Aims: The direct effects of screening on drinking behaviour have not previously been evaluated experimentally. We tested whether screening reduces self-reported hazardous drinking in comparison with a non-screened control group. Design: Two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT), with both groups blinded to the true nature of the study. Setting and participants: A total of 421 university students aged 18-24 years, recruited in five London student unions. Interventions: Both groups completed a brief pen-and-paper general health and socio-demographic questionnaire, which for the experimental group also included the 10-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) screening questionnaire. Measurements: The primary outcome was the between-group difference in AUDIT score at 2-3-month follow-up. Eight secondary outcomes comprised other aspects of hazardous drinking, including dedicated measures of alcohol consumption, problems and dependence. Findings: A statistically significant effect size of 0.23 (0.01-0.45) was detected on the designated primary outcome. The marginal nature of the statistical significance of this effect was apparent in additional analyses with covariates. Statistically significant differences were also obtained in three of eight secondary outcomes, and the observed effect sizes were not dissimilar to the known effects of brief interventions. Conclusions: It is unclear to what extent these findings represent the effects of screening alone, a Hawthorne effect in which drinking behaviour has changed in response to monitoring, or whether they indicate reporting bias. These possibilities have important implications both for the dissemination of screening as an intervention in its own right and for behavioural intervention trials methodology. copyright 2007 The Authors.
Addiction, 103(2) : 241-248
- Year: 2008
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Universal prevention
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Other Psychological Interventions
Larimer, M. E., Cronce, J. M.
This paper serves to update a prior review of the literature on individual-focused prevention and treatment approaches for college drinking [Larimer, M.E. & Cronce, J.M. (2002). Identification, prevention and treatment: A review of individual-focused strategies to reduce problematic alcohol consumption by college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol Suppl. 14, 148-163.], and covers the period from late 1999 through 2006. No support was found for information/knowledge approaches alone, or for brief values clarification approaches alone or with other informational content. Evidence was found in support of skills-based interventions and motivational interventions that incorporated personalized feedback, with or without an in-person intervention. Normative re-education interventions received mixed support, though personalized normative feedback was associated with positive outcomes. Significant advances have been made over the past seven years with respect to mailed and computerized feedback interventions, and interventions with mandated students. Much of the research reviewed suffered from significant limitations, particularly small sample sizes, attrition, and lack of appropriate control groups. More research is needed to determine the best methods for disseminating such interventions on college campuses, as well as additional research on interventions with high-risk groups of students. copyright 2007.
Addictive Behaviors, 32(11) : 2439-2468
- Year: 2007
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Systematic reviews
-
Stage: Universal prevention
, At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
, Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)