Do Brief Personalized Feedback Interventions Work for Mandated Students or Is It Just Getting Caught That Works?

摘要

Studies evaluating the efficacy of brief interventions with mandated college students have reported declines in drinking from baseline to short-term follow-up regardless of intervention condition. A key question is whether these observed changes are due to the intervention or to the incident and/or reprimand. This study evaluates a brief personal feedback intervention (PFI) for students (N = 230), who were referred to a student assistance program because of infractions of university rules regarding substance use, to determine whether observed changes in substance are attributable to the intervention. Half the students received immediate feedback (at baseline and after the 2-month follow-up) and half received delayed feedback (only after the 2 mo. follow-up). Students in both conditions generally reduced their drinking and alcohol-related problems from baseline to the 2 mo. follow-up and from the 2 mo. to the 7 mo. follow-up; however, there were no significant between-group differences at either follow-up. Therefore, it appears that the incident and/or reprimand are important instigators of mandated student change, and that written PFIs do not enhance these effects on a short-term basis, but may on a longer-term basis.