TY - JOUR
T1 - Mental Contrasting With Implementation Intentions Reduces Drinking When Drinking Is Hazardous
T2 - An Online Self-Regulation Intervention
AU - Wittleder, Sandra
AU - Kappes, Andreas
AU - Oettingen, Gabriele
AU - Gollwitzer, Peter M.
AU - Jay, Melanie
AU - Morgenstern, Jon
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded in part by the German Research Foundation (U-4701-DFG-1601). P.M.G was supported in part by the German Research Foundation (DFG, for 2374).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Society for Public Health Education.
PY - 2019/8/1
Y1 - 2019/8/1
N2 - Introduction. Drinking alcohol has detrimental health consequences, and effective interventions to reduce hazardous drinking are needed. The self-regulation intervention of Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions (MCII) promotes behavior change across a variety of health behaviors. In this study, we tested if online delivery of MCII reduced hazardous drinking in people who were worried about their drinking. Method. Participants (N = 200, female = 107) were recruited online. They were randomized to learn MCII or solve simple math problems (control). Results. Immediately after the intervention, participants in the MCII condition (vs. control) reported an increased commitment to reduce drinking. After 1 month, they reported having taken action measured by the Readiness to Change drinking scale. When drinking was hazardous (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test ≥ 8, n = 85), participants in the MCII condition indicated a decreased number of drinking days, exp(β) = 0.47, CI (confidence interval) [−1.322, −.207], p =.02, and drinks per week, exp(β) = 0.57, CI [0.94, 5.514], p =.007, compared with the control condition. Discussion. These findings demonstrate that a brief, self-guided online intervention (Mdn = 28 minutes) can reduce drinking in people who worry about their drinking. Our findings show a higher impact in people at risk for hazardous drinking. Conclusion. MCII is scalable as an online intervention. Future studies should test the cost-effectiveness of the intervention in real-world settings.
AB - Introduction. Drinking alcohol has detrimental health consequences, and effective interventions to reduce hazardous drinking are needed. The self-regulation intervention of Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions (MCII) promotes behavior change across a variety of health behaviors. In this study, we tested if online delivery of MCII reduced hazardous drinking in people who were worried about their drinking. Method. Participants (N = 200, female = 107) were recruited online. They were randomized to learn MCII or solve simple math problems (control). Results. Immediately after the intervention, participants in the MCII condition (vs. control) reported an increased commitment to reduce drinking. After 1 month, they reported having taken action measured by the Readiness to Change drinking scale. When drinking was hazardous (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test ≥ 8, n = 85), participants in the MCII condition indicated a decreased number of drinking days, exp(β) = 0.47, CI (confidence interval) [−1.322, −.207], p =.02, and drinks per week, exp(β) = 0.57, CI [0.94, 5.514], p =.007, compared with the control condition. Discussion. These findings demonstrate that a brief, self-guided online intervention (Mdn = 28 minutes) can reduce drinking in people who worry about their drinking. Our findings show a higher impact in people at risk for hazardous drinking. Conclusion. MCII is scalable as an online intervention. Future studies should test the cost-effectiveness of the intervention in real-world settings.
KW - Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions (MCII)
KW - alcohol
KW - computer-mediated health promotion
KW - self-guided brief intervention
KW - self-regulation
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U2 - 10.1177/1090198119826284
DO - 10.1177/1090198119826284
M3 - Article
C2 - 30836781
AN - SCOPUS:85062677013
SN - 1090-1981
VL - 46
SP - 666
EP - 676
JO - Health Education and Behavior
JF - Health Education and Behavior
IS - 4
ER -