Curbing Problem Drinking with Personalized-Feedback Interventions: A Meta-Analysis
Context
The effectiveness of personalized-feedback interventions to reduce problem drinking has been evaluated in several RCTs and systematic reviews. A meta-analysis was performed to examine the overall effectiveness of brief, single-session personalized-feedback interventions without therapeutic guidance.
Evidence acquisition
The selection and analyses of studies were conducted in 2008. Fourteen RCTs of single-session personalized-feedback interventions without therapeutic guidance were identified, and their combined effectiveness on the reduction of problematic alcohol consumption was evaluated in a meta-analysis. Alcohol consumption was the primary outcome measure.
Evidence synthesis
The pooled standardized-effect size (14 studies, 15 comparisons) for reduced alcohol consumption at post-intervention was d=0.22 (95% CI=0.16, 0.29; the number needed to treat=8.06; areas under the curve=0.562). No heterogeneity existed among the studies (Q=10.962; p=0.69; I2=0).
Conclusions
The use of single-session personalized-feedback interventions without therapeutic guidance appears to be a viable and probably cost-effective option for reducing problem drinking in student and general populations. The Internet offers ample opportunities to deliver personalized-feedback interventions on a broad scale, and problem drinkers are known to be amenable to Internet-based interventions. More research is needed on the long-term effectiveness of personalized-feedback interventions for problem drinking, on its potential as a first step in a stepped-care approach, and on its effectiveness with other groups (such as youth obliged to use judicial service programs because of violations of minimum-age drinking laws) and in other settings (such as primary care).
aInnovation Centre of Mental Health and Technology, Trimbos Institute (Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction), Utrecht, The Netherlands
bDepartment of Clinical Psychology and Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine (EMGO) Institute, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
cAmsterdam Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
dCognitive Science, Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Heleen Riper, PhD, MSc, Trimbos Institute, P.O. Box 725, 3500 AS Utrecht, The Netherlands
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ABSTRACT