Latest Findings alcohol research & topics Jan 2011: Motivational Interviewing 'what to say'

Recent research from the drug and alcohol Bank:

Findings research bulletins

Clues to what to say and not to say in motivational interviewing sessions This substudy from the seminal US Project MATCH alcohol treatment trial found evidence for the appealingly simple conclusions that selectively reflecting back to the client their own pro-change statements promotes further change talk, which in turn promotes the desired drinking reductions themselves.

Findings Hot Topics

Relieving the population-wide burden of alcohol-related harm At 2001 rates alcohol-related death, illness and crime cost England about 20 billion pounds and at 2006/7 rates, Scotland 2.25 billion. This public health burden both reflects and calls in to question the embededness of drinking in British society, making how to reduce the burden a highly contested issue. In the mix are universal prevention programmes, price rises, widespread screening and brief advice in surgeries and hospitals, and treating the worst cases. Each has enthusiasts and sceptics.

Controlling alcohol-related crime, nuisance and disorder Another major theme, this time in British national alcohol policies, as town centres count the costs of an alcohol-based nighttime economy and street drinking is increasingly treated as anti-social and sometimes simply banned. Policy prominence has yet to be matched by UK-based research, but we can still learn potentially important lessons from the UK and from abroad.

Further alcohol research abstracts as highlighted from the Findings team:

• Spirituality in Recovery: A Lagged Mediational Analysis of Alcoholics Anonymous' Principal Theoretical Mechanism of Behavior Change
• Stigma and Treatment for Alcohol Disorders in the United States
• Alcohol-Use Disorders and Depression: Results from Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis of the Acamprosate-Controlled Studies
• Barriers to Implementing Screening and Brief Interventions in General Practice: Findings from a Qualitative Study in Norway

Further research can be found from the Findings bank, the AERC library, and a links page on the Alcohol Learning Centre.