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A developmental‐based motivational intervention to reduce alcohol and marijuana use among non‐treatment‐seeking young adults: a randomized controlled trial
Author(s) -
Stein Michael D.,
Caviness Celeste M.,
Morse Emily F.,
Grimone Kristin R.,
Audet Daniel,
Herman Debra S.,
Moitra Ethan,
Anderson Bradley J.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/add.14026
Subject(s) - binge drinking , randomized controlled trial , brief intervention , psychological intervention , intervention (counseling) , young adult , psychology , feeling , motivational interviewing , clinical psychology , medicine , psychiatry , poison control , injury prevention , developmental psychology , environmental health , social psychology
Aims To test the hypothesis that among non‐treatment‐seeking emerging adults (EA) who both use marijuana and have alcohol binges, a brief, longitudinally delivered, developmentally based motivational intervention would show greater reductions in the use of these two substances compared with a health education control condition. Design Parallel, two‐group, randomized controlled trial with follow‐up interventions conducted at 1, 3, 6 and 9 months and final assessments at 12 and 15 months. Setting Hospital‐based research unit in the United States. Participants Community‐based 18–25‐year‐olds who reported at least monthly binge drinking and at least weekly marijuana use. Intervention Motivational intervention (EA‐MI) focused primarily on themes of emerging adulthood (identity exploration, instability, self‐focus, feeling in‐between, a sense of possibilities) and the subjects' relationship to substance use ( n = 110) compared with an attention‐matched health education control condition ( n = 116). Measurements The primary outcomes were days of binge alcohol, marijuana and dual use day as measured using the timeline follow‐back method analysing the treatment by time interaction to determine relative differences in the rate of change between intervention arms. Findings At baseline, the mean rate (days/30) of binge drinking was 5.23 (± 4.31) of marijuana use was 19.4 (± 10.0) and of dual (same day) use was 4.11 (± 4.13). Relative to baseline, there were reductions in the rate of binge alcohol use, marijuana use and days of combined binge alcohol and marijuana use ( P < 0.001) at all follow‐up assessments. However, the treatment × time interaction was not statistically significant for alcohol ( P = 0.37), for marijuana ( P = 0.07) or for dual use ( P = 0.55). Averaged over all follow‐ups, mean reductions in binge, marijuana and dual use days were 1.16, 1.45 and 1.08, respectively, in the health education arm, and 1.06, 1.69 and 0.96 in EA‐MI. Bayes factors were < 0.01 for frequency of binge alcohol use and frequency of dual binge alcohol and marijuana and 0.016 for marijuana use. Conclusions A brief, longitudinally delivered, developmentally based motivational intervention for young adults did not produce reductions in binge alcohol, marijuana use or dual use days relative to a control condition.