SynthesisJournal of studies on alcohol and drugs2015
Single-Session Alcohol Interventions for Heavy Drinking College Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 2 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
53 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A Systematic Umbrella Review on the Epidemiology of Modifiable Health Influencing Factors and on Health Promoting Interventions Among University Students.Frontiers in public health · 2020Pooled it
- Alcohol interventions for mandated college students: A meta-analytic review.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2016Pooled it
- Do hypothetical evaluations of alcohol related consequences change over time? Examining the influence of past and ongoing consequences.Addictive behaviors · 2024Trial
- Outcomes of a Brief Motivational Intervention for Heavy Alcohol Use in Racial or Ethnic Minority Compared to White Emerging Adults.Journal of evidence-based social work (2019) · 2024Trial
- Women's experience receiving drug feedback and adherence counseling in MTN-025/HOPE - an HIV Prevention open-label trial of the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring.AIDS and behavior · 2022Trial
- Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Postsecondary Students: Randomized Factorial Trial for Examining Motivational Interviewing and Booster Lessons.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Trial
- Efficacy of a Single-Session "Empowered Relief" Zoom-Delivered Group Intervention for Chronic Pain: Randomized Controlled Trial Conducted During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Trial
- Protective behavioral strategies underutilization mediates effect of a brief motivational intervention among socially anxious undergraduate drinkers.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2021Trial
- Trial
- A Pilot Randomized Trial of Intervention Components Addressing Drug Use in Couples HIV Testing and Counseling (CHTC) with Male Couples.AIDS and behavior · 2019Trial
- Elucidating the Effect of a Brief Drinking Intervention Using Neuroimaging: A Preliminary Study.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Trial
- Using e-mail boosters to maintain change after brief alcohol interventions for mandated college students: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2018Trial
- Do brief motivational interventions reduce drinking game frequency in mandated students? An analysis of data from two randomized controlled trials.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2017Trial
- Peer Network Counseling as Brief Treatment for Urban Adolescent Heavy Cannabis Users.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2017Trial
- Exploring motivational interviewing's technical hypothesis with emerging adults from racial or ethnic minority groups with heavy alcohol use.Journal of ethnicity in substance abuse · 2026Article
- Single Session Behavioral Interventions for Chronic Pain A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.The journal of pain · 2026Review
- Capturing meaningful change: Initiation and maintenance of reductions in World Health Organization risk drinking levels among mandated college students.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2026Article
- The impact of a brief web-based intervention on improving intention and awareness related to reducing alcohol consumption during pregnancy among high-risk female college student drinkers: a quasi-experimental study.Women's health nursing (Seoul, Korea) · 2025Article
- Motivational Interventions for Reducing Excessive Alcohol Consumption Among University Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Profiles of transdermal alcohol concentration and their prediction of negative and positive alcohol-related consequences in young adults' natural settings.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis summarizing the effectiveness of brief, single-session interventions to reduce alcohol use among heavy drinking college students.
methodA comprehensive literature search identified 73 studies comparing the effects of single-session brief alcohol intervention with treatment-as-usual or no-treatment control conditions on alcohol use among heavy drinking college students. Random-effects meta-analyses with robust variance estimates were used to synthesize 662 effect sizes, estimating the average overall effect of the interventions and the variability in effects across a range of moderators.
resultsAn overall mean effect size of ḡ = 0.18, 95% CI [0.12, 0.24] indicated that, on average, single-session brief alcohol interventions significantly reduced alcohol use among heavy drinking college students relative to comparison conditions. There was minimal variability in effects associated with study method and quality, general study characteristics, participant demographics, or outcome measure type. However, studies using motivational enhancement therapy/motivational interviewing (MET/MI) modalities reported larger effects than those using psychoeducational therapy (PET) interventions. Further investigation revealed that studies using MET/ MI and feedback-only interventions, but not those using cognitive-behavioral therapy or PET modalities, reported average effect sizes that differed significantly from zero. There was also evidence that long-term effects were weaker than short-term effects.
conclusionsSingle-session brief alcohol interventions show modest effects for reducing alcohol consumption among heavy drinking college students and may be particularly effective when they incorporate MET/MI principles. More research is needed to directly compare intervention modalities, to develop more potent interventions, and to explore the persistence of long-term effects.
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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.