Efficacy of counselor vs. computer-delivered intervention with mandated college students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of two brief interventions and the inclusion of a 1-month booster session with college students who were referred to attend alcohol education following an alcohol-related incident. Participants ( N = 225; 48.9% male) were randomly assigned to receive one session of a Brief Motivational Interview (BMI) or computer-delivered intervention (CDI) with the Alcohol 101 CD-ROM. Participants were also randomly assigned to booster/no booster. At 3-month follow up, participants in BMI reported greater help seeking and use of behavioral strategies to moderate drinking. At 12-month follow up, BMI participants were drinking more frequently and CDI participants were consuming a greater number of drinks per occasion than at baseline. Mediation analyses showed that the use of specific behavioral strategies mediated the effect of the BMI condition on drinking volume. There was no intervention effect on alcohol problems, and the booster condition did not significantly affect outcomes. Promoting specific behaviors in the context of in-person brief interventions may be a promising approach to reducing drinking volume among identified at-risk students.