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Published on: January 5, 2018
A quasi-randomized group trial of a brief alcohol intervention on risky single occasion drinking among secondary
Gerhard Gmel1, Vigeli Venzin, Katrin Marmet
1Research Department, Addiction Switzerland, Avenue de Ruchonnet 14, P.O. Box 870, 1001 Lausanne, Switzerland. ggmel@addictionsuisse.ch
Objectives:
To show the effectiveness of a brief group alcohol intervention. Aims of the intervention were to reduce the frequency of heavy drinking occasions, maximum number of drinks on an occasion and overall weekly consumption.
Methods:
A cluster quasi-randomized control trial (intervention n = 338; control n = 330) among 16- to 18-year-old secondary school students in the Swiss Canton of Zürich. Groups homogeneous for heavy drinking occasions (5+/4+ drinks for men/women) consisted of those having medium risk (3-4) or high risk (5+) occasions in the past 30 days. Groups of 8-10 individuals received two 45-min sessions based on motivational interviewing techniques.
Results:
Borderline significant beneficial effects (p < 0.10) on heavy drinking occasions and alcohol volume were found 6 months later for the medium-risk group only, but not for the high-risk group. None of the effects remained significant after Bonferroni corrections.
Conclusions:
Group intervention was ineffective for all at-risk users. The heaviest drinkers may need more intensive treatment. Alternative explanations were iatrogenic effects among the heaviest drinkers, assessment reactivity, or reduction of social desirability bias at follow-up through peer feedback.
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