Disorders - Alcohol Use
Borsari, B., Carey, K. B.
Encouraging but limited research indicates that brief motivational interventions may be an effective way to reduce heavy episodic drinking in college students. At 2 campuses, students (83% male) mandated to a substance use prevention program were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 individually administered conditions: (a) a brief motivational interview (BMI; n = 34) or (b) an alcohol education session (AE; n = 30). Students in the BMI condition reported fewer alcohol-related problems than the AE students at 3- and 6-month assessments. Trends toward reductions in number of binge drinking episodes and typical blood alcohol levels were seen in both groups. Process measures confirmed the integrity of both interventions. The findings demonstrate that mandated BMIs can reduce alcohol problems in students referred for alcohol violations. Copyright 2005 by the American Psychological Association.
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 19(3) : 296-302
- Year: 2005
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
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Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy, Psychoeducation
Chiauzzi, Emil, Green, Traci Craig, Lord, Sarah, Thum, Christina, Goldstein, Marion
The authors investigated the efficacy of an interactive Web site, MyStudentBody.com: Alcohol (MSB:Alcohol) that offers a brief, tailored intervention to help heavy drinking college students reduce their alcohol use. They conducted a randomized, controlled clinical trial to compare the intervention with an alcohol education Web site at baseline, postintervention, and 3-month follow-up. Students were assessed on various drinking measures and their readiness to change their drinking habits. The intervention was especially effective for women and persistent binge drinkers. Compared with women who used the control Web site, women who used the intervention significantly reduced their peak and total consumption during special occasions and also reported significantly fewer negative consequences related to drinking. In addition, persistent heavy binge drinkers in the experimental group experienced a more rapid decrease in average consumption and peak consumption compared with those in the control group. The authors judged MSB:Alcohol a useful intervention for reaching important subgroups of college binge drinkers.
Journal of American College Health, 53(6) : 263-74
- Year: 2005
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
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Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Personalised feedback, normative feedback
Collins, Susan E., Carey, Kate B.
This study examined the effects of written and in-person decisional balance exercises on measures of risky drinking. College students determined to be at-risk for alcohol-related problems (N=131) were randomly assigned to an in-person decisional balance (IDB), a written decisional balance (WDB), or an assessment-only control (C) group. IDB participants met with an interventionist for individual 30-min discussions of the pros and cons of maintaining versus changing their drinking behavior, whereas WDB participants completed written decisional balance exercises. All participants completed alcohol-use assessments at baseline, 2-week posttest, and 6-month follow-up. Process analyses indicated that IDB participants generated more cons of current drinking and more pros of cutting down than WDB participants. Further, the proportion of pros to cons for cutting down predicted IDB but not WDB group drinking change. On the other hand, analyses of covariance indicated no significant differences among the groups on 2-week alcohol consumption, heavy-drinking episodes, alcohol consumption during peak drinking occasions, and alcohol-related problems. This study did not provide support for decisional balance as a stand-alone brief motivational intervention for at-risk college drinkers.
Addictive Behaviors, 30(7) : 1425-30
- Year: 2005
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Other Psychological Interventions
Boekeloo, Bradley O., Jerry, Judith, Lee-Ougo, Wilhelmena I., Worrell, Kevin D., Hamburger, Ellen K., Russek-Cohen, Estelle, Snyder, Mark H.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether office-based interventions change adolescents' alcohol beliefs and alcohol use. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled trial. SETTING: Five managed care group practices in Washington, DC. PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive 12- to 17-year-olds (N = 409) seeing primary care providers (N = 26) for general check-ups. Most of the adolescents (79%) were African American, 44% were male, and 16% currently drank. INTERVENTIONS: Usual care (Group I), adolescent priming with alcohol self-assessment just prior to check-up (Group II), adolescent priming and provider prompting with adolescent self-assessment and brochure (Group III). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Adolescent alcohol beliefs at exit interview and self-reported behaviors at 6- and 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: At exit interview, Groups II and III reported that less alcohol was needed for impaired thinking and a greater intent to drink alcohol in the next 3 months than Group I. At 6 months, Group III reported more resistance to peer pressure to drink, and Groups II and III reported more bingeing than Group I. At 1-year follow-up, controlling for baseline levels, Groups II (odds ratio [OR], 3.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.44-6.24) and III (OR, 2.86; CI, 1.13-7.26) reported more bingeing in the last 3 months than Group I. Group II reported more drinking in the last 30 days (OR, 2.31; CI, 1.31-4.07) and in the last 3 months (OR, 1.76; CI, 1.12-2.77) than Group I. CONCLUSION: Brief office-based interventions were ineffective in reducing adolescent alcohol use but may increase adolescent reporting of alcohol use.
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 158(7) : 635-42
- Year: 2004
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
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Stage: Universal prevention
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Treatment and intervention: Service Delivery & Improvement, Other service delivery and improvement interventions
Bailey, Kylie A., Baker, Amanda L., Webster, Rosemary A., Lewin, Terry J.
The aim of this study was to identify whether a brief motivational interviewing and cognitive-behavioural-based alcohol intervention group (AIG) programme is feasible with young people at risk of developing a problem with alcohol, and to assess the short-term effectiveness of the intervention. Participants were assigned randomly to receive a group intervention of four sessions duration (n = 17; AIG) or no treatment (n = 17, control group). Participants were volunteers recruited from a youth centre on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, comprising youths aged 12-19 years who were interested in participating in the study. The Readiness to Change Questionnaire, items from the AUDIT, the DAP Quick Screen and a knowledge questionnaire were administered at pretreatment, post-treatment and at 1- and 2-month follow-ups. Participants in the AIG programme showed an increase in readiness to reduce their alcohol consumption. They also reduced their frequency of drinking at posttreatment and the first follow-up assessment, while the control group reported increases at the second follow-up assessment. The control group also increased their hazardous drinking and frequency of binge drinking compared to the AIG. The intervention appeared to improve the AIG participants' knowledge about alcohol and its effects. The results provide preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of the AIG programme in training young people to set limits on alcohol consumption, increase awareness of safe drinking levels and the effects of alcohol abuse. This pilot study also showed that young people who are identified as being 'at risk' of developing alcohol abuse, and who are also ambivalent about changing drinking behaviours, can be recruited and retained in a treatment programme. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Drug & Alcohol Review, 23(2) : 157-166
- Year: 2004
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
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Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy
Komro, Kelli A., Perry, Cheryl L., Veblen-Mortenson, Sara, Bosma, Linda M., Dudovitz, Bonnnie S., Williams, Carolyn, Jones-Webb, Rhonda, et-al
Objective: Summarizes the research and intervention design of a new trial to evaluate an adaptation of Project Northland, a multicomponent, community-wide alcohol prevention program for culturally diverse youth living in a large city. The original Project Northland was successful in reducing alcohol use among a sample of mostly White, rural adolescents. Methods: We highlight the steps taken to adapt the intervention strategies for culturally diverse inner-city youth, families, and neighborhoods. The research design is a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the adapted Project Northland for reducing the early onset and prevalence of alcohol use among young urban adolescents. Conclusion: The information gained from this trial, including the process of adaptation of prevention strategies, will be beneficial for alcohol-use prevention efforts within diverse urban communities across the country. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 29(6) : 457-466
- Year: 2004
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
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Stage: Universal prevention
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Other Psychological Interventions
McBride, Nyanda, Farringdon, Fiona, Midford, Richard, Meuleners, Lynn, Phillips, Mike
AIMS: The School Health and Alcohol Harm Reduction Project (SHAHRP study) aimed to reduce alcohol-related harm in secondary school students. DESIGN: The study used a quasi-experimental research design in which randomly selected and allocated intervention and comparison groups were assessed at eight, 20 and 32 months after baseline. SETTING: Metropolitan, government secondary schools in Perth, Western Australia. PARTICIPANTS: The sample involved over 2300 students. The retention rate was 75.9% over 32 months. INTERVENTION: The evidence-based intervention, a curriculum programme with an explicit harm minimization goal, was conducted in two phases over a 2-year period. MEASURES: Knowledge, attitude, total alcohol consumption, risky consumption, context of use, harm associated with own use and harm associated with other people's use of alcohol. FINDINGS: There were significant knowledge, attitude and behavioural effects early in the study, some of which were maintained for the duration of the study. The intervention group had significantly greater knowledge during the programme phases, and significantly safer alcohol-related attitudes to final follow-up, but both scores were converging by 32 months. Intervention students were significantly more likely to be non-drinkers or supervised drinkers than were comparison students. During the first and second programme phases, intervention students consumed 31.4% and 31.7% less alcohol. Differences were converging 17 months after programme delivery. Intervention students were 25.7%, 33.8% and 4.2% less likely to drink to risky levels from first follow-up onwards. The intervention reduced the harm that young people reported associated with their own use of alcohol, with intervention students experiencing 32.7%, 16.7% and 22.9% less harm from first follow-up onwards. There was no impact on the harm that students reported from other people's use of alcohol. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support the use of harm reduction goals and classroom approaches in school drug education.
Addiction, 99(3) : 278-91
- Year: 2004
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Controlled clinical trials
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Stage: Universal prevention
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Psychoeducation, Skills training
Donohue, Brad, Allen, Daniel N., Maurer, Arlene, Ozols, Juliette, DeStefano, Giuliana
Although psycho-educational and skills-based program approaches appear promising in preventing excessive alcohol use in college students, controlled evaluations of such programs are needed. In the present study, 113 college students with a recent history of alcohol use were randomly assigned to receive Alcohol 101 CD-RDM Psycho-Education or Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) alcohol abuse prevention programs. Post-prevention satisfaction ratings indicated that students who received the Alcohol 101 program reported greater awareness of the consequences of alcohol use, and greater likelihood of being cautious in dangerous situations involving alcohol, as compared with students who received CBT. However, comparisons of self-report data between the month before prevention and the month following prevention indicated that the prevention programs were equally effective in reducing the number of alcohol drinks consumed by students per drinking occasion. Moreover, High Risk students who received CBT demonstrated greater reductions in the number of alcohol drinks consumed, and total number of days drinking alcohol, as compared with students who received the Alcohol 101 program. Study implications are discussed in light of these results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education, 48(1) : 13-33
- Year: 2004
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
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Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
, Psychoeducation
Kypri, Kypros, Saunders, John B., Williams, Sheila M., McGee, Rob O., Langley, John D., Cashell-Smith, Martine L., Gallagher, Stephen J.
Background: Strong evidence exists for the efficacy of screening and brief intervention for reducing hazardous drinking. However, problems have been highlighted with respect to its implementation in health-care systems, not least of which is a reluctance of some doctors to discuss alcohol proactively with their patients. Aims: To determine the efficacy of a novel web-based screening and brief intervention (e-SBI) to reduce hazardous drinking. Design: A double-blind randomized controlled trial. Setting: A university student health service. Participants: A total of 167 students (17-26 years) were recruited in the reception area and completed a 3-minute web-based screen including the Alcohol Use Disorder Identifiation Test (AUDIT) questionnaire. Of these, 112 tested positive, and 104 (52 females) who consented to follow-up were included in the trial. Measurements: Drinking frequency, typical occasion quantity, total volume, heavy episode frequency (females>80 g ethanol, males>120 g ethanol), number of personal problems, an academic problems score. Intervention: Participants were randomized to 10-15 minutes of web-based assessment and personalized feedback on their drinking (intervention, n=51) or to a leaflet-only control group (n=53). Findings: Mean baseline AUDIT scores for control and intervention groups were 16.6 (SD=6.0) and 16.6 (SD=5.7). At 6 weeks, participants receiving e-SBI reported significantly lower total consumption (geometric mean ratio=0.74; 95% confidence interval: 0.56-0.96), lower heavy episode frequency (0.63; 0.42-0.92) and fewer personal problems (0.70; 0.54-0.91). At 6 months personal problems remained lower (0.76; 0.60-0.97), although consumption did not differ significantly. At 6 months, academic problems were lower in the intervention group relative to controls (0.72; 0.51-1.02). Conclusions: e-SBI reduced hazardous drinking among university students, to an extent similar to that found for practitioner-delivered brief interventions in the general population. e-SBI offers promise as a strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm in a way that is non-intrusive, appealing to the target group, and capable of being incorporated into primary care. Research is required to replicate the findings, to determine the duration of intervention effects, and to investigate the mechanisms by which the intervention operates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Addiction, 99(11) : 1410-1417
- Year: 2004
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
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Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
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Treatment and intervention: Service Delivery & Improvement, Psychological Interventions (any)
, Personalised feedback, normative feedback
, Technology, interventions delivered using technology (e.g. online, SMS)
McNally, A. M., Palfai, T. P.
The utility of brief interventions with at-risk college drinkers would be enhanced if they could also be delivered in group settings without the need for risk prescreening. The current study therefore explored whether components of brief interventions could be effectively administered to mixed groups of drinking and non-drinking students. Specifically, the outcomes of two methods aimed toward increasing motivation for change were compared to controls. One intervention focused on enhancing actual-ideal drinking behavior discrepancy through a structured group discussion, while the other focused on enhancing self-norm drinking behavior discrepancy through the provision and discussion of didactic information. Among at-risk drinkers, significant reductions in heavy drinking episode frequency at four-week follow-up were found for the self-norm (S-N) group only, while reductions in alcohol problems were obtained in both the S-N and control groups. Results suggest that self-norm discrepancy enhancement strategies may be more effective than actual-ideal discrepancy strategies when used with a mixed drinking group.
Journal of Drug Education, 33(2) : 159-176
- Year: 2003
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
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Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
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Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Motivational interviewing, includes Motivational Enhancing Therapy, Personalised feedback, normative feedback
Niederhofer, Helmut, Staffen, Wolfgang, Mair, Alois
This study assesses the efficacy and safety of long-term naltrexone treatment in alcohol dependence of adolescents. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, thirty patients, age 15 to 19 years, with chronic or episodic alcohol dependence were randomly allocated to treatment with naltrexone (50mg daily) or placebo for 90 days. Patients were assessed on the day treatment started and on days 30 and 90 by interview, self-report, questionnaire, and laboratory screening. At the end of treatment, 20 naltrexone treated and 10 placebo treated patients had been continuously abstinent (p = 0.0069). Naltrexone is an effective and well-tolerated pharmacological adjunct to psychosocial and behavioral treatment programs for the treatment of adolescent alcohol-dependent patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 21(2) : 87-95
- Year: 2003
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
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Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
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Treatment and intervention: Biological Interventions (any)
, Medications used to treat substance abuse
Niederhofer, Helmut, Staffen, Wolfgang, Mair, Alois
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, 27(1) : 136
- Year: 2003
- Problem: Alcohol Use
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
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Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
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Treatment and intervention: Biological Interventions (any)
, Selective serotonin reuptake enhancers (SSREs)