Does clinician continuity over two brief motivational sessions improve outcomes in college students?

Previous research has shown that brief motivational interventions (BMIs) are an effective treatment approach for reducing college student alcohol use and associated negative consequences. The purpose of this study was to determine whether clinician continuity (having the same vs. a different clinician) across an initial BMI and follow-up booster session was related to differences in session satisfaction, self-reported alcohol use, and alcohol-related negative consequences. Participants included 358 undergraduate students who were part of a larger randomized clinical trial. Results revealed no significant differences in alcohol use and associated consequences at follow-up between participants who met with the same versus a different clinician. Clinician continuity was not significantly related to intervention fidelity in terms of BMI-consistent qualities, relevance of information presented, or session satisfaction. These findings suggest that clinician continuity across BMIs for college students is not related to participant satisfaction or intervention effectiveness, especially if the clinicians adhere to empirically supported techniques

Phone-delivered brief motivational interventions for mandated college students delivered during the summer months

OBJECTIVE: Across the United States, tens of thousands of college students are mandated to receive an alcohol intervention following an alcohol policy violation. Telephone interventions may be an efficient method to provide mandated students with an intervention, especially when they are away from campus during summer vacation. However, little is known about the utility of telephone-delivered brief motivational interventions. METHOD: Participants in the study (N = 57) were college students mandated to attend an alcohol program following a campus-based alcohol citation. Participants were randomized to a brief motivational phone intervention (pBMI) (n = 36) or assessment only (n = 21). Ten participants (27.8%) randomized to the pBMI did not complete the intervention. Follow-up assessments were conducted 3, 6, and 9 months post-intervention. RESULTS: Results indicated the pBMI significantly reduced the number of alcohol-related problems compared to the assessment-only group. Participants who did not complete the pBMI appeared to be lighter drinkers at baseline and randomization, suggesting the presence of alternate influences on alcohol-related problems. CONCLUSION: Phone BMIs may be an efficient and cost-effective method to reduce harms associated with alcohol use by heavy-drinking mandated students during the summer months

Tailgating and Pregaming by College Students with Alcohol Offenses: Patterns of Alcohol Use and Beliefs

Research indicates that pregaming (drinking before a social event) and tailgating (drinking before a sporting event) are two culturally ingrained alcohol use behaviors by college students. We examined the prevalence of these two activities in a sample of college students (N = 354) who violated campus alcohol policy and were mandated to receive an alcohol intervention in fall 2010. Results indicated that alcohol consumption and other risk factors were related to pregaming and tailgating. These findings are discussed in the context of clinical implications and future directions for research. This study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health