Brief motivational enhancement and coping skills interventions for heavy drinking

Two brief (3-session) interventions were evaluated in a community sample of 98 non-dependent heavy drinking adults. Three weeks of intensive daily monitoring of drinking using a hand-held computer were completed before and after a 3-week intervention phase in which participants were randomly assigned to a brief coping skills, brief motivational enhancement, or waiting list condition. Waiting list participants drank more before, during, and after the brief intervention than brief intervention subjects, but all participants demonstrated reductions in drinking amount and frequency. No differences in drinking were found between the two brief interventions. The potential value of intensive daily monitoring as a tool for non-alcohol dependent individuals interested in reducing their drinking was considered.