University of Houston, United States.
Addict Behav. 2013 Dec;38(12):2913-7. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.08.025. Epub 2013 Sep 4.
The present study examined the effectiveness of expressive writing in reducing drinking behavior. We expected that students prompted to write about negative drinking experiences would show greater decreases in future drinking intentions compared to the neutral and the positive writing conditions. We also expected that decreases in drinking intentions following the writing prompts might differ based on current drinking and AUDIT scores. Participants included 200 (76% female) undergraduates who completed measures of their current drinking behavior. They were then randomly assigned to either write about: a time when they had a lot to drink that was a good time (Positive); a time when they had a lot to drink that was a bad time (Negative); or their first day of college (Neutral), followed by measures assessing intended drinking over the next three months. Results revealed that participants intended to drink significantly fewer drinks per week and engage in marginally fewer heavy drinking occasions after writing about a negative drinking occasion when compared to control. Interactions provided mixed findings suggesting that writing about a positive event was associated with higher drinking intentions for heavier drinkers. Writing about a negative event was associated with higher intentions among heavier drinkers, but lower intentions among those with higher AUDIT scores. This research builds on previous expressive writing interventions by applying this technique to undergraduate drinkers. Preliminary results provide some support for this innovative strategy but also suggest the need for further refinement, especially with heavier drinkers.
本研究旨在考察表达性写作在减少饮酒行为方面的效果。我们期望,与中性和积极写作条件相比,被提示书写负面饮酒经历的学生,未来的饮酒意图会有更大程度的降低。我们还预计,在写作提示后,饮酒意图的降低可能会因当前饮酒量和 AUDIT 分数的不同而有所不同。参与者包括 200 名(76%为女性)本科生,他们完成了关于当前饮酒行为的测量。然后,他们被随机分配到以下三种写作条件之一:①有很多喝得很开心的时间;②有很多喝得很糟糕的时间;③他们的大学第一天。随后,他们完成了衡量未来三个月内饮酒意向的测量。结果表明,与对照组相比,参与者在书写负面饮酒经历后,计划每周饮酒量明显减少,计划重度饮酒次数也略有减少。交互作用提供了混合的发现,表明书写积极事件与重度饮酒者更高的饮酒意向相关。书写负面事件与重度饮酒者的更高意向相关,但与 AUDIT 分数较高者的较低意向相关。这项研究通过将这种技术应用于本科生饮酒者,对以前的表达性写作干预进行了扩展。初步结果为这一创新策略提供了一些支持,但也表明需要进一步改进,特别是对重度饮酒者。