The primary objective of this project is to examine factors that are associated with the effectiveness of intervention programs designed to reduce high-risk drinking among heavy drinking college students. Previous research has found similar effect sizes for different types of multi-component, brief interventions among college students, but little research has assessed the degree to which specific components of such interventions are associated with intervention outcomes. One common component of motivational enhancing interventions among college students involves providing cognitive-behavioral self-control strategies designed to reduce one's use of alcohol, which we term """"""""protective behavioral strategies"""""""" (PBS). However, there are two important factors that limit our understanding of the effects of PBS on client outcomes. First, the use of these strategies in motivational enhancing programs has generally not been assessed in a systematic manner, due in part to the fact that until recently a standardized measure of such strategies did not exist. Second, researchers have yet to conduct studies that have assessed whether or not interventions focused solely on PBS cause changes in alcohol-related outcomes, which would clearly identify PBS as an active intervention component. Participants in this project will be """"""""at-risk"""""""" college student drinkers who will be assigned to one of three conditions: a Protective Behavioral Strategies Feedback condition, an education-only control condition, and a Personalized Normative Feedback condition. This latter condition will allow for comparisons with a single-component treatment that has been shown to reduce alcohol consumption, but not alcohol-related negative consequences. Participant will complete self-report measures of alcohol-related variables at baseline, 2-, and 7-month follow-ups. Analyses of follow-up group differences while controlling for baseline values will be used to determine the effectiveness of the intervention programs, and structural equation modeling will be used to determine if increases in PBS result in reductions in alcohol use/alcohol-related problems.
Excessive college student drinking represents an important public health problem for both the students themselves and those with whom they interact. The objective of this research is to better understand how to reduce such high-risk drinking by improving prevention and treatment programs, which will provide an overall public health benefit.
| Arterberry, Brooke J; Smith, Ashley E; Martens, Matthew P et al. (2014) Protective Behavioral Strategies, Social Norms, and Alcohol-Related Outcomes. Addict Res Theory 22:279-285 |
| Arterberry, Brooke J; Martens, Matthew P; Cadigan, Jennifer M et al. (2014) Application of Generalizability Theory to the Big Five Inventory. Pers Individ Dif 69:98-103 |
| Martens, Matthew P; Smith, Ashley E; Murphy, James G (2013) The efficacy of single-component brief motivational interventions among at-risk college drinkers. J Consult Clin Psychol 81:691-701 |
