What are the Characteristics of Effective Brief Interventions?

The characteristics of brief interventions including the components, length and mode of delivery may impact on alcohol outcomes.

A number of meta-analyses have compared the outcomes of MI with assessment feedback compared to MI alone. Current evidence suggests brief interventions containing personalised assessment feedback and MI have slightly better outcomes than MI alone.

A growing number of studies have tried to identify the active ingredients of brief alcohol interventions. Brief interventions targeting these mechanisms of change for reducing alcohol use, could increase their effectiveness. A review of 61 brief alcohol intervention trials found descriptive norms (perceptions of peer alcohol use) mediated normative feedback intervention efficacy, and motivation to change consistently failed to mediate MI efficacy. Mediators with mixed but promising support included protective behavioural strategies, outcome expectancies, self-efficacy, changes in emotion constructs and coping motives. A recent study found differences in the mediators of change in alcohol use at short versus longer term follow up. Together these results indicate we have a limited understanding of the mechanisms of change of brief alcohol interventions, and further research is needed.

Current evidence indicates the length of brief interventions has no impact on alcohol outcomes in adolescents, young and older adults in any treatment setting. Individual MI is more effective than group-MI compared to no or alternative alcohol treatments.