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Abstract: This study evaluated the efficacy of two brief personalized feedback interventions (PFIs) using identical feedback and motivational interviewing strategies aimed at reducing alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems to two control conditions among a sample of high-risk drinking college students. Students (N = 152) were randomly assigned to a computer-delivered PFI with a video interviewer, a face-to-face PFI with a live interviewer, a comprehensive assessment condition, or a minimal assessment-only condition. At 10 weeks posttreatment, the face-to-face PFI significantly reduced weekly drinking quantity and peak and typical blood alcohol concentration compared with the comprehensive assessment and minimal assessment-only conditions (d values ranged from 0.32 to 0.61). No significant between-group differences were evidenced for the computer-delivered PFI condition, although effect sizes were comparable to other college drinking studies using computer-delivered interventions (d values ranged from 0.20 to 0.27). Results provide further support for the use of a face-to-face PFI to help reduce college students'' alcohol consumption and suggest that a video interviewer in the context of a computer-delivered PFI is likely a helpful but not necessarily a complete substitute for a live interviewer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Individuals with high self-esteem who engage in risky health behaviours often minimize the associated health risks; individuals with low self-esteem do not demonstrate such minimization. The influence of gender on health risk perceptions is less clear. This study examined the influences of gender and self-esteem upon college students' responses to an alcohol risk message. Three-hundred-and-four alcohol-using college students read an NIAAA sponsored message regarding the risks associated with alcohol use. Results revealed that self-esteem and gender significantly and independently predicted alcohol-related attitudes, intentions, and follow-up behaviour. Females, especially those with low self-esteem, demonstrated greater alcohol-related concerns immediately after reading the message, while males exhibited more self-serving attitudes. In addition, high self-esteem participants and males reported fewer intentions to reduce drinking behaviour. At follow-up, higher self-esteem was associated with greater drinking frequency relative to lower self-esteem. Furthermore, males with higher self-esteem reported the greatest binge frequency compared with all other groups. These findings suggest that individuals with higher self-esteem and males are particularly resistant to information regarding the negative consequences of alcohol use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Previous research has found that individuals who engage in risky health behaviors respond to health risk messages in a self-serving manner, limiting the impact of health messages among targeted individuals. The present study sought to investigate whether alcohol-using college students would respond to risk messages about alcohol use with a similar defensive bias. Both alcohol-using (N =244) and non-using (N =91) college students read a summary of alcohol risk information intended for college students. Participants then reported their attitudes about the seriousness of the problem of college drinking, personal risk, and the scientific credibility of the risk information. Results indicated that high-risk participants responded in a self-serving manner, with significantly lower ratings of problem importance among alcohol-using students and non-significant differences among assessments of personal risk between groups. Further, alcohol-using students were more critical of the scientific merit of the risk information and more skeptical about the empirical claims. Defensively biased responding was more pronounced among more frequent and heavy drinking students than among lighter drinking students. The implications of these findings as well as possible ways to reduce defensive bias are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Alcohol-induced amnesia ("blackout") is a reliable predictor of alcohol-related harm. Given its association with other negative consequences, experience of alcohol-induced amnesia may serve as a teachable moment, after which individuals are more likely to respond to intervention. To test this hypothesis, alcohol-induced amnesia was evaluated as a moderator of brief intervention effect on (a) alcohol-related consequences and (b) the proposed intervention mediators, protective behavioral strategies and peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Baseline alcohol risk measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was also evaluated as a moderator to rule out the possibility that amnesia is simply an indicator of more general alcohol risk. College students (N = 198) reporting alcohol use in a typical week completed assessments at baseline and 1-month follow-up as part of a larger intervention trial. Participants were randomized to assessment only (AO; n = 58) or personalized feedback intervention (PFI; n = 140). Hierarchical regression was used to examine direct and indirect intervention effects. A significant group-by-amnesia interaction revealed that only PFI participants who had experienced alcohol-induced amnesia in the past month reported decreases in alcohol consequences at 1-month follow-up. The PFI reduced alcohol-related consequences indirectly through changes in peak BAC, but only among those who had experienced amnesia at baseline. In contrast, baseline alcohol risk (AUDIT) did not moderate intervention effects, and use of protective behavioral strategies did not statistically mediate intervention effects. Findings suggest that loss of memory for drinking events is a unique determinant of young adult response to brief alcohol intervention. Normative feedback interventions may be particularly effective for individuals who have experienced alcohol-induced amnesia in the past 30 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing discrepancy between one's values and behaviors is theoretically important in motivating change; however, existing studies lack a validated measure of value-behavior discrepancy for alcohol misuse. The current studies aimed to modify Wilson & DuFrene (2008) Valued Living Questionnaire (VLQ) to assess consistency of alcohol use with important values. In Study 1, the initial factor structure and test-retest reliability of the VLQ for Alcohol Use (VLQ-A) was tested in a sample of college students who regularly drink alcohol (N = 150). Results guided modifications to the measure. In Study 2, the revised measure's factor structure and predictive validity were tested with a second sample of college students who drink alcohol (N = 222). In both studies, exploratory factor analysis supported a unidimensional factor structure. Perceived discrepancy between alcohol use and important values predicted greater readiness to change, while perceived consistency between alcohol use and important values predicted more frequent heavy episodic drinking. Certain values were more useful in predicting outcomes than others. Alcohol use (heavy vs. moderate drinking) did not moderate outcomes. The VLQ-A is a brief and reliable self-report measure of perceived discrepancy between drinking behaviors and important values that may increase readiness to change. Future research examining the generalizability of findings to various samples and the efficacy of the VLQ-A as a supplement to brief interventions is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study aimed to inform future interventions for heavy alcohol use and problems among college students by examining the utility of normative perceptions and coping strategies in predicting alcohol use among student service members/Veterans (SSM/Vs).Methods: SSM/Vs and civilian students (N=319) at a large university in the Southern Plains completed self-report measures of demographics, alcohol use and related behaviors, and coping strategies.Results: Both SSM/Vs and civilian students significantly overestimated the typical weekly drinking quantities and frequencies of same-sex students on campus. Among SSM/Vs, normative perceptions of typical student (not military-specific) drinking and substance-related coping strategies significantly predicted drinks consumed per week, while substance-related coping predicted alcohol-related consequences.Conclusions: Despite the theoretical importance of similarity to normative referents, military-specific norms did not significantly improve the prediction of SSM/Vs' personal drinking behavior. Moreover, neither typical student nor military-specific norms predicted alcohol-related consequences among SSM/Vs after accounting for substance-related coping strategies. Future research may examine the efficacy of descriptive normative feedback and the importance of military-specific norms in alcohol interventions for SSM/Vs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Personalized normative alcohol feedback (PNF) is associated with decreased alcohol use among young adults. However, limited research has examined the influence of depressive symptoms on PNF efficacy. This study examined symptoms of depression as a moderator of college student response to a computerized PNF intervention for alcohol use.Methods: College students (N = 212, 59% female) who reported drinking in a typical week completed baseline and one-month assessments as part of a previously published intervention trial. We randomized participants to alcohol PNF (n = 153) or assessment only (n = 59). We used regression models to examine the interaction between PNF and symptoms of depression on alcohol outcomes at one-month follow-up.Results: One in four participants screened positive for clinically significant symptoms of depression. Depressive symptoms did not moderate intervention effects on drinking quantity. However, PNF was only associated with reduced frequency of heavy episodic drinking and lower probability of any alcohol-related consequence in the context of mild to moderate (not minimal) symptoms of depression.Conclusions: PNF is more effective than assessment alone in reducing drinking quantity, regardless of symptoms of depression. However, it may only be more effective in decreasing frequency of heavy episodic drinking and the probability of alcohol-related consequences among those experiencing mild to moderate (as opposed to minimal) symptoms of depression. Alcohol intervention trials should assess symptoms of depression and consider them in data analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Personalized feedback interventions (PFIs) are associated with small but reliable decreases in alcohol consumption among college students. While they often include information regarding protective behavioral strategies (PBS), PFIs do not typically include feedback aimed to modify normative perceptions of PBS. This study aimed to enhance the efficacy of existing PFIs among college students by incorporating normative feedback on participants' use of PBS.Methods: Students enrolled in undergraduate courses (N = 268) completed baseline and 1-month follow-up assessments of past-month use of PBS, normative perceptions of PBS use, alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related consequences. Participants were randomized to one of three conditions: typical feedback on PBS (typical strategies PFI), descriptive normative feedback on PBS (strategy norms PFI), or assessment-only control (AOC). Participants in the typical strategies PFI and strategy norms PFI conditions received web-based personalized feedback profiles.Results: Compared to AOC, both the strategy norms PFI and typical strategies PFI were effective in correcting participants' perceptions of other students' engagement in PBS (p = .01) but did not differ significantly from one another. No statistically significant differences were observed between conditions in terms of actual PBS use, alcohol consumption, or alcohol-related consequences at 1-month follow-up (p > .05).Discussion: The strategy norms and typical strategies PFIs were both successful in increasing normative perceptions of PBS use, indicating that general (rather than normative) feedback regarding PBS use may be sufficient for changing perceptions of PBS use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]