Motivational Interviewing With and Without Normative Feedback for Adolescents With Substance Use Problems: A...

Area of Science:

• Adolescent Health
• Substance Use Disorder Treatment
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Many adolescents needing substance use disorder treatment do not engage in services.
• Normative feedback (NF) is a promising intervention component, but its appropriateness for adolescents is debated.
• This study investigates NF's role within motivational interviewing (MI) for adolescent treatment engagement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if NF is an inert, helpful, or harmful component of MI for adolescent substance use treatment engagement.
• To inform future large-scale trials on adolescent treatment interventions.

Main Methods:

• Adolescents (N=48) were randomized to receive MI or MI+NF post-assessment.
• Outcomes measured at 3 months included treatment engagement, past-month binge drinking, and days of abstinence.
• High fidelity and retention were achieved in this preliminary study.

Main Results:

• Participants significantly increased days of abstinence by ~10% (d = .32, P =.03), with no group differences.
• Treatment engagement was 55% for MI and 41.7% for MI+NF (OR = .60, nonsignificant).
• No significant differences were found between MI and MI+NF for treatment engagement or binge drinking.

Conclusions:

• Larger trials are needed to confirm if NF is an active ingredient in adolescent MI interventions.
• Further research should explore the mechanisms by which MI+NF may influence outcomes.
• The study highlights the need to carefully evaluate intervention components for adolescent substance use treatment.