Elsevier

Addictive Behaviors

Volume 58, July 2016, Pages 68-73
Addictive Behaviors

The impact of motives-related feedback on drinking to cope among college students

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.02.024Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Outcomes from a brief coping motive feedback intervention are examined.

  • Participants were randomized to either receive motives-related or standard feedback.

  • The motives-based intervention showed promising treatment outcome results.

Abstract

Motives for alcohol use are associated with distinct antecedents and consequences. Drinking alcohol to cope with negative affect is consistently associated with the most problematic patterns of use. Interventions targeting drinking to cope are needed. This randomized controlled treatment trial is an initial attempt to evaluate the impact of a brief coping motive-specific personalized feedback intervention on motives and problematic outcomes associated with drinking. The study randomized 170 participants to receive either a brief Standard Feedback Condition (SFC; n = 83) or a Motives Feedback Condition (MFC; n = 87) that added education and feedback on drinking to cope as well as alternative coping strategies. Significant reductions in drinking to cope with anxiety and with depression were greater in the MFC at the 2-month follow-up. Significant reductions in drinking and negative consequences were observed but did not differ significantly by condition. Indirect tests showed that the MFC, relative to SFC, was associated with outcomes of drinking and negative consequences through change in drinking to cope with depression. Moderation analyses revealed that there were no differential outcomes according to baseline level of coping. This study is a promising new direction in motives research, providing support for brief personalized feedback interventions incorporating motives-related feedback.

Introduction

Motives for using alcohol are psychological reasons for drinking that may provide insight into characteristics of drinkers and the consequences they experience (Kuntsche, E., et al., 2005, Kuntsche, E., et al., 2006). The most commonly measured drinking motives include coping with negative affect, conformity with others, enhancement of positive affect, and social experience (Cooper, 1994). Motives for alcohol use are associated with distinct antecedents and consequences of use in a variety of populations (e.g., Cooper, M.L., et al., 1992, Cooper, M.L., 1994, Kuntsche, E., et al., 2005, Kuntsche, E., et al., 2006). Using alcohol to cope with negative affect has received the most empirical attention and has been associated with the most negative consequences (Ham, L. S. and Hope, D. A., 2003, Kuntsche, E., et al., 2005, Merrill, J. E., et al., 2014). The current study is an initial attempt to examine whether a brief personalized feedback intervention (PFI) targeting drinkers who use to cope augments the impact of existing interventions.

Preliminary evidence indicates that targeting motives may be useful in reducing problematic use and highlights the importance of motives (Banes, K.E., et al., 2014, Conrod, P.J., et al., 2011, Conrod, P. J., et al., 2006, Conrod, P. J., et al., 2000, LaBrie, J.W., et al., 2008). Conrod, P. J., et al., 2000, Conrod, P. J., et al., 2006, Conrod, P.J., et al., 2011 showed that a PFI matched to participant personality profiles reduced drinking motives consistent with the personality-targets, as well as the negative consequences associated with alcohol use (Conrod, P. J., et al., 2000, Conrod, P. J., et al., 2006, Conrod, P.J., et al., 2011). For example, the intervention designed for individuals with anxiety sensitivity personality profile reduced levels of anxiety sensitivity, coping motives, and negative outcomes over time. Results from a brief PFI for female drinkers indicated that the intervention, which incorporated a discussion on motives, was associated with significant reductions in use and consequences as compared to the intervention without motives information (Labrie et al., 2008). A study focused on adult marijuana users found a change in motives for marijuana use following participation in a motivational enhancement and cognitive-behavioral treatment (Banes et al., 2014). They reported associations between reductions in coping motives and reductions in negative outcomes of marijuana use, suggesting that motives for use may be a mechanism of change.

Despite the work that has established that motives for use are associated with rates of use and consequences (c.f. Kuntsche, E., et al., 2005, Kuntsche, E., et al., 2006), no known treatment study has tested a brief, individualized PFI that directly targets specific motives for use. The Conrod studies utilized a group format to introduce coping strategies specific to each personality profile (Conrod, P. J., et al., 2000, Conrod, P. J., et al., 2006, Conrod, P.J., et al., 2011). LaBrie et al. (2008) utilized motives information in a brief format, but did not provide specific personalized feedback based on the motives that the individual specifically endorsed.

The goal of the current study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a coping motive-specific PFI that provides information and feedback on drinking to cope. The specific hypotheses are: (1) the PFI incorporating coping motives-related feedback and information will reduce coping motives for alcohol use, quantity of alcohol consumed, and associated negative consequences compared to a standard PFI; (2) the intervention will be associated with reductions in quantity of alcohol use and consequences of use indirectly through drinking to cope; (3) coping motives measured at baseline will moderate the effect of the intervention such that those with higher levels of the coping motive will show the largest reductions in alcohol use and related problems in the coping motive intervention condition.

Section snippets

Participants

Participants were undergraduates who were enrolled in psychology classes at a large southeastern university. In an effort to recruit individuals who drank regularly but not necessarily problematically, eligibility criteria included alcohol use on two or more days of a typical week. Additionally, participants were required to be at least 18 years of age. Eligibility criteria was explicitly stated in all recruitment materials. Of the 174 participants who attended a screening session, a total of

Preliminary analyses

Examination of the distributions of measures indicated adequate variation at both time points and no evidence of floor or ceiling effects. Data were examined for normality via Shapiro–Wilk testing and exhibited positive skew (p < .01). Thus, variables were log-transformed for GLM and indirect effects analyses. No participants answered more than one of the five careless reporting items incorrectly and, thus, no participants were excluded from analyses based on careless reporting. Comparisons of

Discussion and conclusions

The present study showed that providing feedback on using alcohol to cope reduced reports of using alcohol to cope with anxious and depressed affect in comparison to a more traditional personalized feedback intervention that did not incorporate motives feedback. Significant reductions in quantity of alcohol use and alcohol-related problem were also evident at follow-up, but did not differ significantly as a function of the coping motives feedback. However, there were indirect effects of

Role of funding source

Funding for this study was provided by a grant through the Virginia Tech Graduate Research Development Program (GRDP); the GRDP had no further role in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the paper for publication.

Contributors

CB and RS conceived, designed, and implemented the trial. CB and RS conceived the aims of this paper. CB performed the statistical analyses and wrote the initial draft of the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.

Conflict of interest

No conflict declared.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Thomas Ollendick, Ph.D., Jungmeen Kim-Spoon, Ph.D., George Clum, Ph.D., and Steven Lash, Ph.D., whom were instrumental in study design.

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