College students have high rates of alcohol problems, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has targeted this age group for a number of intervention initiatives designed to reduce alcohol use (NIAAA, 2002). Substance use, including heavy drinking, often occurs at the expense of other, substance-free, activities. This Stage 1 therapy development project will examine the promotion of one specific substance-free activity - exercise - as an intervention for hazardous drinking. Exercise has numerous physical and mental health benefits, and data suggest that students who engage in exercise regularly are less likely to drink heavily. Seventy hazardous drinking (AUDIT scores >8) college students who are sedentary will be randomized to one of two conditions: (1) two 50-minute sessions of motivational enhancement therapy (MET) focused on increasing exercise spaced one month apart plus 8 weeks of exercise contracting, or (2) two 50-minute sessions of MET focused on increasing exercise plus 8 weeks of contingency management (CM) for adhering to specific exercise activities. MET is a client-centered, directive method of enhancing intrinsic motivation to change by exploring and resolving ambivalence, and CM is a behavioral treatment that offers individuals tangible reinforcement such as prizes for completion of specific target behaviors. All participants will meet briefly with a therapist once per week to review the prior week's exercise contract and complete an exercise contract for the upcoming week. Those in the CM intervention will also receive any reinforcement earned for verified exercise (e.g., pedometer readings, attendance records from campus gym) in the prior week. Assessments of all participants will take place at baseline, 2-months (post-treatment), and 6-months (follow-up) with primary outcome measures being objective and subjective indices of physical activity and exercise, and self-reported alcohol use. Secondary outcomes include health-related physical fitness (e.g., tests of body composition, cardiovascular endurance, and muscle strength). We hypothesize that the MET+CM intervention will show increased levels of physical activity, exercise, physical fitness, and reductions in alcohol use in comparison to the MET intervention. Results from this Stage 1 therapy development study will guide future investigations of exercise-related motivational interventions as a method for reducing hazardous drinking in college students.
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has identified hazardous drinking in college students as a significant concern and a research priority due to its significant prevalence on many college campuses and its association with many adverse consequences. Research suggests that engaging college students in activities unrelated to drinking decreases alcohol use. This pilot study will seek to decrease alcohol use by engaging sedentary hazardous drinking college students in an exercise program. Exercise has numerous mental and physical health benefits. Exercise is hypothesized to reduce hazardous drinking due to its function as a coping mechanism.
