Brief Alcohol Intervention for School-to-Work Transitions

This is a 2-year research project to test the efficacy of brief motivational intervention for reducing heavy alcohol use in young adults transitioning out of high school. Participation occurs within 3 months prior to graduation or within 1 year following graduation or dropout from high school. Heavy drinkers ages 17-20 will be randomly assigned to receive one session of BMI or one session of relaxation training. All participants complete identical assessments at baseline and immediately post-intervention (during session 1). Participants also complete in-person 6-week and 3-month follow up assessments to evaluate intervention effects. Study aims involve: a) testing the comparative efficacy of BMI; b) identifying moderators (person-level predictors) of intervention response; and c) identifying mediators (mechanisms) of intervention effects, that is, how BMI exerts its effect on outcomes.