Document Type
Article - post-print
Publication Date
7-2009
Abstract
Objective:
Female college students have increased their alcohol consumption rates. The current study sought to replicate the effectiveness of a female-specific motivational-enhancement group intervention and extended previous work by adding a 6-month follow-up. The intervention included several motivational-enhancement components delivered in a group setting and included a group discussion of female-specific reasons for drinking.
Method:
Participants were 285 first-year college women. Data collection consisted of an online pre-intervention questionnaire, 10 weeks of online follow-up assessment, and a 6-month online follow-up. Using a randomized design, participants chose a group session, blind to treatment status. Held during the first weeks of the first semester, 159 participants received the intervention and 126 participants received an assessment-only control.
Results:
Using a repeated-measures analysis of covariance, intervention participants consumed significantly less than control participants on drinks per week (F = 11.86, 1/252 df, p < .001), maximum drinks (F = 11.90, 1/252 df, p < .001), and heavy episodic drinking events (F = 20.14, 1/252 df, p < .001) across 10weeks of follow-up. However, these effects did not persist at the 6-month follow-up. Moderation effects were found for social motives on all drinking variables, such that the intervention was most effective for those women with higher social motives for drinking.
Conclusions:
Efficacy was found for a female-specific motivational group intervention in creating less risky drinking patterns among first-year women, especially women with social motives for drinking. The effect dissipated by the second semester, suggesting the need for maintenance or booster sessions.
Citation / Publisher Attribution
LaBrie, J. W., Huchting, K. K., Lac, A., Tawalbeh, S., Thompson, A. D., & Larimer, M. E. (2009). Preventing Risky Drinking in First-Year College Women: Further Validation of a Female-Specific Motivational-Enhancement Group Intervention . Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Supplement, (16), 77–85.
Publisher Statement
This is an author-manuscript of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs following peer review. The version of record: LaBrie, J. W., Huchting, K. K., Lac, A., Tawalbeh, S., Thompson, A. D., & Larimer, M. E. (2009). Preventing Risky Drinking in First-Year College Women: Further Validation of a Female-Specific Motivational-Enhancement Group Intervention . Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Supplement, (16), 77–85 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.15288/jsads.2009.s16.77.
