Many students engage in heavy episodic drinking that increases their risk for negative health and social consequences. Traditional informational programs and stringent drinking rules have not significantly decreased such alcohol use on college campuses. Brief motivational interventions (BMIs) have emerged as a promising approach aimed at reducing alcohol use in college students. BMIs consist of one assessment session and one individualized feedback session, which focuses on personal drinking quantity and frequency, problems associated with use, alcohol expectancies, and information about alcohol's effects. Two published outcome studies demonstrated that BMIs resulted in significant reductions in alcohol use and problems. Additional research is needed to: (a) replicate promising initial findings at other universities; (b) compare BMIs to an alternative one-on-one intervention; and (c) evaluate the efficacy of BMIs with a referred population. This project will compare two structurally equivalent interventions: (a) a BMI and (b) an alcohol education session (AE). Participants will be high risk drinkers referred by the authorities to a Syracuse University alcohol and drug counseling center. There will be three assessments: at baseline, 3 and 6 months. It is expected that those receiving the BMI will (a) drink less and (b) experience fewer alcohol-related problems than those that receive the AE session. We will also evaluate possible mediating influences of (a) perceived norms and (b) alcohol expectancies on drinking.
