Treatment Completion in a Brief Motivational Intervention in the Emergency Department: The Effect of Multiple Interventions and Therapists' Behavior

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify therapist behaviors during a brief motivational intervention (BMI) given to injured emergency department patients that predicted participant return for a second BMI session and 12-month alcohol-related outcomes. This was a secondary data analysis of a randomized controlled trial (n = 539) previously demonstrating that random assignment to a BMI and booster session resulted in a significant reduction of 12-month post-intervention alcohol-related injuries and negative consequences relative to standard care. Participants who actually received 2 BMI sessions had significantly less alcohol-related negative consequences than those who received only 1 BMI session. Therapists who reported a higher focus on emotional support and low focus on participant drinking behaviors during the initial BMI session were more likely to have assigned participants return for the second BMI session. The results of these secondary analyses show that compliance with a 2-session therapeutic intervention (BIB) predicted fewer negative alcohol-related consequences, and that therapists' supportive emotional emphasis during the first BMI session was important in predicting participants returning for the second MI session.