Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2010 Mar;105(3):452-65.
doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02814.x.

Moderators and mediators of two brief interventions for alcohol in the emergency department

Nancy P Barnett  1 , Timothy R Apodaca, Molly Magill, Suzanne M Colby, Chad Gwaltney, Damaris J Rohsenow, Peter M Monti
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Moderators and mediators of two brief interventions for alcohol in the emergency department

Nancy P Barnett et al. Addiction. 2010 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate moderators and mediators of brief alcohol interventions conducted in the emergency department.

Methods: Patients (18-24 years; n = 172) in an emergency department received a motivational interview with personalized feedback (MI) or feedback only (FO), with 1- and 3-month booster sessions and 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Gender, alcohol status/severity group [ALC+ only, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT+) only, ALC+/AUDIT+], attribution of alcohol in the medical event, aversiveness of the event, perceived seriousness of the event and baseline readiness to change alcohol use were evaluated as moderators of intervention efficacy. Readiness to change also was evaluated as a mediator of intervention efficacy, as were perceived risks/benefits of alcohol use, self-efficacy and alcohol treatment seeking.

Results: Alcohol status, attribution and readiness moderated intervention effects such that patients who had not been drinking prior to their medical event, those who had low or medium attribution for alcohol in the event and those who had low or medium readiness to change showed lower alcohol use 12 months after receiving MI compared to FO. In the AUDIT+ only group those who received MI showed lower rates of alcohol-related injury at follow-up than those who received FO. Patients who had been drinking prior to their precipitating event did not show different outcomes in the two interventions, regardless of AUDIT status. Gender did not moderate intervention efficacy and no significant mediation was found.

Conclusions: Findings may help practitioners target patients for whom brief interventions will be most effective. More research is needed to understand how brief interventions transmit their effects.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00246428.

Keywords: Alcohol; Brief Intervention; Emergency Room.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Attribution of alcohol in the ED event and readiness to change alcohol use as moderators of intervention effects on 12-month alcohol use
Figure 2
Figure 2
Direct effect of individual mediators and direct effect of treatment
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Gentilello LM, Donovan DM, Dunn CW, Rivara FP. Alcohol interventions in trauma centers: Current practice and future directions. JAMA. 1995;274(13):1043–8. - PubMed
    1. Cherpitel CJ. Drinking patterns and problems: A comparison of primary care with the Emergency Room. Substance Abuse. 1999 Jun;20(2):85–95. - PubMed
    1. Cherpitel CJ. Alcohol and injuries: A review of international emergency room studies. Addiction. 1993;88:651–65. - PubMed
    1. Dischinger PC, Mitchell KA, Kufera JA, Soderstrom CA, Lowenfels AB. A longitudinal study of former trauma center patients: The association between toxicology status and subsequent injury mortality. J Trauma. 2001;51(5):877–86. - PubMed
    1. Bien TH, Miller WR, Tonigan JS. Brief interventions for alcohol problems: A review. Addiction. 1993;88:315–36. - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data