SynthesisAlcoholism, clinical and experimental research2015
Brief motivational interventions for college student drinking may not be as powerful as we think: an individual participant-level data meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 98 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
98 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 139 citations in OpenAlex.
- Brief Alcohol Interventions are Effective through 6 Months: Findings from Marginalized Zero-inflated Poisson and Negative Binomial Models in a Two-step IPD Meta-analysis.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2023Pooled it
- Investigating for Whom Brief Substance Use Interventions Are Most Effective: An Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2023Pooled it
- A Structural Equation Modeling Approach to Meta-analytic Mediation Analysis Using Individual Participant Data: Testing Protective Behavioral Strategies as a Mediator of Brief Motivational Intervention Effects on Alcohol-Related Problems.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2022Pooled it
- Do Brief Alcohol Interventions Reduce Driving After Drinking Among College Students? A Two-step Meta-analysis of Individual Participant Data.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2022Pooled it
- A bias correction method in meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials with no adjustments for zero-inflated outcomes.Statistics in medicine · 2021Pooled it
- A systematic review of gene-by-intervention studies of alcohol and other substance use.Development and psychopathology · 2021Pooled it
- Brief Motivational Interventions Are Associated with Reductions in Alcohol-Induced Blackouts Among Heavy Drinking College Students.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Pooled it
- Feasibility and Effects of Digital Interventions to Support People in Recovery From Substance Use Disorders: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2018Pooled it
- Motivational interviewing for the prevention of alcohol misuse in young adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Social norms information for alcohol misuse in university and college students.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Are there secondary effects on marijuana use from brief alcohol interventions for college students?Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2015Pooled it
- Project INTEGRATE: An integrative study of brief alcohol interventions for college students.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2015Pooled it
- Which is Better for Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis of Zero-Inflated Count Outcomes, One-Step or Two-Step Analysis? A Simulation Study.Multivariate behavioral researchPooled it
- A randomized controlled trial of a brief online intervention to reduce alcohol misuse and promote treatment initiation among veterans.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2026Trial
- Effects of optimism and stage of change on alcohol use and problems among sexual minority men with HIV participating in a brief motivational interviewing intervention.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2025Trial
- Do hypothetical evaluations of alcohol related consequences change over time? Examining the influence of past and ongoing consequences.Addictive behaviors · 2024Trial
- A pilot trial of a brief intervention for cannabis use supplemented with a substance-free activity session or relaxation training.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2024Trial
- A mobile-based pregaming drinking prevention intervention for college students: A pilot randomized controlled trial.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2023Trial
- A randomized pilot trial of a mobile delivered brief motivational interviewing and behavioral economic alcohol intervention for emerging adults.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2023Trial
- A combined laboratory and field test of a smartphone breath alcohol device and blood alcohol concentration estimator to facilitate moderate drinking among young adults.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2022Trial
38 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFor over 2 decades, brief motivational interventions (BMIs) have been implemented on college campuses to reduce heavy drinking and related negative consequences. Such interventions include in-person motivational interviews (MIs), often incorporating personalized feedback (PF), and stand-alone PF interventions delivered via mail, computer, or the Web. Both narrative and meta-analytic reviews using aggregate data from published studies suggest at least short-term efficacy of BMIs, although overall effect sizes have been small.
methodsThis study was an individual participant-level data (IPD) meta-analysis of 17 randomized clinical trials evaluating BMIs. Unlike typical meta-analysis based on summary data, IPD meta-analysis allows for an analysis that correctly accommodates the sampling, sample characteristics, and distributions of the pooled data. In particular, highly skewed distributions with many zeroes are typical for drinking outcomes, but have not been adequately accounted for in existing studies. Data are from Project INTEGRATE, one of the largest IPD meta-analysis projects to date in alcohol intervention research, representing 6,713 individuals each with 2 to 5 repeated measures up to 12 months postbaseline.
resultsWe used Bayesian multilevel over dispersed Poisson hurdle models to estimate intervention effects on drinks per week and peak drinking, and Gaussian models for alcohol problems. Estimates of overall intervention effects were very small and not statistically significant for any of the outcomes. We further conducted post hoc comparisons of 3 intervention types (individual MI with PF, PF only, and group MI) versus control. There was a small, statistically significant reduction in alcohol problems among participants who received an individual MI with PF. Short-term and long-term results were similar.
conclusionsThis study questions the efficacy and magnitude of effects of BMIs for college drinking prevention and intervention and suggests a need for the development of more effective intervention strategies.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.