Application of the Motivational Interviewing Technique to Reduce Alcohol Use and Prevent Negative Consequences Among College Athletes

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a counseling technique that evolved from the treatment of problem drinkers. It is a semi-directive, client-centered approach that is designed to elicit behavior change by helping clients explore and resolve ambivalence. Compared with traditional counseling, MI is more goal-directed.

There is compelling evidence that college athletes are especially at-risk for alcohol use and negative consequences because their drinking behaviors are grounded in drinking motives that are unique, which prompted a call for interventions that address athlete-specific reasons for and against alcohol use. Fortunately, interventions that include motivational enhancement approaches like MI have demonstrated significant effects on drinking behavior and consequences among college students.

The purpose of this collaborative project undertaken by the departments of public health education, counseling and educational development, and athletics was to develop instructional materials for small groups of student athletes enrolled in an undergraduate health course and assess the feasibility of applying MI to reduce alcohol use and prevent negative consequences in this at-risk population.

                Student athletes entering the university at which this project occurred are required to enroll in an undergraduate health course. During the fall semester of 2011, a total of 74 students were enrolled and required to participate in this intervention. Small groups of students attended a 90 minute motivational enhancement group meeting at which they were engaged in a decisional balance activity about the pros and cons of alcohol use for athletes to resolve ambivalence, discussed alcohol facts related to athletic and academic performance, reviewed athlete-specific alcohol use data to clarify norms, and brainstormed high-risk situations and situation-specific protective strategies.

                All students enrolled in the course were invited to participate in a pretest survey prior to the intervention and a posttest survey 30 days later; 64 (87%) agreed to participate in online data collection. Following are the variables of interest that were measured and the published instruments from which survey items were derived:

• Alcohol use:
• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.
• Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test.
• Mediators of alcohol use:
• Drinking Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire.
• Athlete Drinking Scale.
• Negative consequences of alcohol use:
• Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire.

                Preliminary results suggest that application of the motivational interviewing technique to reduce alcohol use and prevent negative consequences among college athletes is feasible.