A peer-drinking group brief motivational intervention for reducing alcohol use and consequences

Abstract

Alcohol consumption, particularly among young males, is an important global health problem. Adverse outcomes include injuries secondary to drunk-driving, physical aggression and violence, increased risks of illicit drug use, crime, and longer term risks such as alcohol dependence and depression. There are no data available to evaluate the extent to which interventions are effective in reducing alcohol consumption and consequences among young males in Thailand. We sought to examine the efficacy of a peer-drinking group brief motivational intervention (PD-GMI) among Thai male undergraduates. Used a quasiexperimental study design involving two student groups with assessments at baseline and at two follow-up sessions was used. Participants were students enrolled in two public universities and who reported alcohol consumption during the current academic year. Students in one university were assigned to an assessment-only study group (n=110); and students at the other university were assigned to a 2-hour PD-GMI intervention (n=115). Students receiving the intervention had significant reductions in mean AUDIT scores; 50.4% at baseline to 1-month and 61.2% at baseline to 3-month post-intervention. Their mean RAPI scores were also reduced; 42.0% at baseline to 1-month and 42.9% at baseline to 3-month postintervention. This intervention decreased significantly AUDIT and RAPI over time compared to the control group after adjusting for baseline difference. These results suggest the efficacy of the PD-GMI for reducing alcohol consumption and consequences among Thai male students