Reducing High-Risk Drinking Among Student-Athletes: The Effects of a Targeted Athlete-Specific Brief Intervention.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the effects of a single-session motivational interviewing-based in-person brief alcohol intervention that contained student-athlete-specific personalized drinking feedback.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were 170 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I student-athletes meeting screening criteria for heavy episodic drinking.

METHODS

Baseline assessments of alcohol use frequency and quantity, norm perceptions of peers' alcohol use, experiences of negative consequences, and use of protective behaviors were administered to student-athletes prior to a 1-session brief intervention containing personalized feedback highlighting the relationship between alcohol use and athletic performance. Follow-up assessment was conducted 3 months post intervention.

RESULTS

Student-athletes participating in the athlete-specific brief intervention showed significant reductions in their alcohol use and alcohol-related negative consequences, increases in use of protective behavioral strategies, and corrections in norm misperceptions at 3 months post intervention relative to a no-treatment comparison group.

CONCLUSIONS

Student-athlete-specific brief alcohol interventions show promise in addressing high-risk drinking, reducing associated harms, and supporting health.