Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 26, 2026

Virtual Agent for Real-Time Motivational Interviewing by Integrating Adaptive Nonverbal Behavior and Language Models
Published on: December 23, 2025
Ambivalence: Prerequisite for success in motivational interviewing with adolescents?
Sarah W Feldstein Ewing1, Timothy R Apodaca2,3, Jacques Gaume4
1Oregon Health & Science University, Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Portland, OR, USA. feldstei@ohsu.edu.
Background And Aims:
The exploration and resolution of ambivalence play an essential role in motivational interviewing (MI) theory. However, most adolescent MI studies have not examined ambivalence as a contributor to behaviour change. This paper reviewed research findings on the role of ambivalence in the adolescent change process.
Methods And Results:
We undertook a narrative review of the published empirical and theoretical literature on ambivalence and mechanisms of change in MI for adolescents and found that current MI evaluations appear not to have access to reliable and valid measures of ambivalence in adolescence or neuroimaging methods to evaluate the mechanisms of treatment response.
Conclusions:
Improved instrumentation is needed to assess adolescents' ambivalence in clinical and research settings. Innovative methodology, including neuroimaging, may help identify factors mediating relationships between adolescents' ambivalence and treatment response.
More Related Videos
05:48The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
Published on: June 12, 2020
12:55Multimodal Protocol for Assessing Metacognition and Self-Regulation in Adults with Learning Difficulties
Published on: September 27, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Motivational Bias
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth....