Protective Behavioral Strategies and Brief Alcohol Interventions

Excessive college student drinking represents an important public health problem for both the students themselves and those with whom they interact. The objective of this research is to better understand how to reduce such high-risk drinking by improving prevention and treatment programs, which will provide an overall public health benefit. Subjects in the study will be randomized to one of two brief intervention conditions or an education-only control condition. It is hypothesized that those in the intervention conditions will report greater reductions in alcohol use and alcohol-related problems than those in the control condition.

The primary objective of this project is to examine factors that are associated with the effectiveness of intervention programs designed to reduce high-risk drinking among heavy drinking college students. Previous research has found similar effect sizes for different types of multi-component, brief interventions among college students, but little research has assessed the degree to which specific components of such interventions are associated with intervention outcomes. One common component of motivational enhancing interventions among college students involves providing cognitive-behavioral self-control strategies designed to reduce one's use of alcohol, which we term "protective behavioral strategies" (PBS). However, there are two important factors that limit our understanding of the effects of PBS on client outcomes. First, the use of these strategies in motivational enhancing programs has generally not been assessed in a systematic manner, due in part to the fact that until recently a standardized measure of such strategies did not exist. Second, researchers have yet to conduct studies that dismantle the specific effects associated with the PBS component on client outcomes. That is, studies have not tested interventions with and without assessment and feedback regarding a client's use of PBS. Participants in this project will be "at-risk" college student drinkers who will be assigned to one of three conditions: a brief intervention that includes a focus on PBS, a brief intervention that does not include this focus, and an education-only control condition. Participant will complete self-report measures of alcohol-related variables at baseline, 30-day, and 6-month follow-ups. Mixed-model analyses will be used to determine the effectiveness of the intervention programs, and structural equation modeling will be used to determine if increases in PBS result in reductions in alcohol use/alcohol-related problems.

Total scores on an alcohol problems scale. Possible score range = 0-92. Higher scores are indicative of more alcohol-related problems.

Perceived drinking among other students, represented by standardized scores on the Drinking Norms Rating Form. Higher values indicate that the individual perceives higher levels of drinking among other students. Because the scores are standardized their is no hypothetical minimum or maximum, and the scale is standardized with a mean of 0 and standard deviation of 1. So, a mean value of 1.52 means that participants in that condition had an average score that was 1.52 standard deviation above the overall mean of the sample.

Use of protective behavioral strategies related to alcohol use. Higher scores indicate more use of the strategies. A total score was calculated by summing the three subscale scores on the measure (range = 3-18).

Inclusion Criteria: At least one binge drinking episode in the preceding month Exclusion Criteria: At-risk for alcohol dependence or major depressive disorder