'No-contact' interventions for unhealthy college drinking:efficacy of alternatives to person-delivered intervention approaches

Abstract

Despite the development of brief efficacious interventions, they are not reaching a large proportion of college students who continue to drink in a manner that puts them at risk for harm. Recent efforts have attempted to address this issue through the development of brief alcohol interventions that may be more broadly disseminated to college students. Researchers have adapted a variety of approaches to print and computer-based modalities that do not require direct real-time contact with an interventionist. The goal of this paper is to review the empirical evidence for the utility of these brief alcohol interventions that are delivered without direct real-time contact. A systematic review of this research suggests that 'no-contact' interventions are feasible and may have efficacy. Further research is needed to understand the duration of these effects, mechanisms of change, moderators of outcome, and how to enhance the effectiveness of these approaches.