Quik Fix: A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Enhanced Brief Motivational Interviewing Intervention for Alcohol/Cannabis and Psychological Distress in Young People

past 4 weeks. Australian normative data indicate that this cut-off is indicative of the presence of depression and anxiety disorders in adults and is at the 75th percentile for young people (aged 16– 24) [9] . Exclusion criteria were (i) more frequent use of another illicit drug, (ii) lack of fluency in English/an estimated IQ ! 80, or (iii) current or past history of psychosis. Of the 103 young people referred to the study, 84 (81.6%) completed telephone screening, and of those 68 (80.9%) completed the baseline assessment. Participants consisted of 34 males and 27 females, with a mean age of 19.5 years (SD = 2.4). Young people tended to live with their families (n = 45, 73.8%), were single (n = 34, 55.7%), and were employed (n = 19, 31.1%) or students (n = 16, 26.2%). Just under 40% were unemployed (n = 24). Almost 50% (n = 28) of participants had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder in their lifetime, 24 (39.3%) were currently medicated, including 7 on antidepressants. 61 (59.2%) of the 103 young people referred to the study were randomized to the Quik Fix BMI (n = 30) and AF/I (n = 31) control using computerized block randomization techniques. Quik Fix is a 2–3 session (1 session = 1 h) BMI intervention targeting alcohol/cannabis use and psychological distress in young people. It consists of a brief assessment, personalized assessment feedback, psychoeducation (using an information brochure), motivational interviewing and brief coping skills training. Young people in the AF/I only control group received a single session of the same brief assessment, general assessment feedback (not personalized) and a take-away copy of the information brochure. The research psychologists conducted a brief telephone checkup (using the K10 and TLFB) 1 month post baseline. Young people were also offered up to 12 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) at this time [10] . Those in the AF/I group started at session 1 containing BMI, while those in the Quik Fix BMI group started CBT at session 2. A research assistant blind to treatment allocation conducted telephone assessments at 3 and 6 months followup. Young people were reimbursed AUD 60 for participating. Quik Fix was delivered in a mean of 2.07 (SD = 1.05) sessions and had a high completion rate (93.3%). AF/I was delivered in 1.48 (SD = 0.85) sessions and had a 100% completion rate. There was no between-group difference in the mean number of CBT sessions attended post BI (Quik Fix, mean = 3.77, SD = 3.93; AF/I, mean = 4.03, SD = 3.80). Differences between the two treatment groups at baseline and between treatment and follow-up completers/non-completers were examined using  2 analyses and independent samples t tests. No significant differences on demographic or clinical variables or the primary outcome measures were found. Between-group differences in mean change on the primary outcome measures from baseline to 1, 3 and 6 months follow-up were tested using the mixed-effects model repeated measures approach. Intent-to-treat principles were applied. There was a Alcohol and cannabis are the most commonly used licit and illicit drugs worldwide, and frequently co-occur with depression and anxiety disorders [1] . While there is mounting evidence for the impact of brief motivational interviewing (BMI) interventions for reducing alcohol and cannabis use in young people compared to no/delayed treatment controls over 3 months [e.g. 2, 3 ], their effects appear to decrease over time [e.g. 4 ]. The results of studies comparing BMI interventions with other ‘active’ types of brief interventions (BIs; assessment feedback/information [AF/I]) have also been mixed [3, 5] . Nevertheless, BMI interventions targeting adult alcohol use among psychiatric inpatients (with predominantly mood disorders) have demonstrated significantly better outcomes than control conditions (AF/I) [6, 7] . This is the first randomized controlled trial to compare the effectiveness of a BMI (Quik Fix) compared to an AF/I only control for comorbid cannabis/alcohol use and psychological distress in young people. It was hypothesized that the Quik Fix BMI would result in significantly larger reductions on the primary outcome variables of psychological distress and alcohol/cannabis use. Participants consisted of 61 young people (aged 16–25 years) accessing Western Melbourne headspace, a specialist youth mental health primary care service in Victoria, Australia. Two research psychologists with doctorates in clinical psychology delivered the baseline assessment and BIs. Young people were required to (i) have used cannabis at least once and/or alcohol above pre2009 Australian national drinking guidelines ( 6 14 standard drinking units [SDUs] containing 10 g of ethanol per week) in the past 4 weeks on the Timeline Followback [TLFB; 8 ], and (ii) have a Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) score of 6 17 in the Received: January 13, 2012 Accepted after revision: July 16, 2012 Published online: December 22, 2012