As many as one in four adults in North America experience some problems due to alcohol consumption. While most of these problem drinkers do not have severe enough concerns to merit formal treatment, such drinking has large economic costs and can place the drinker at risk for long term negative health and social consequences. The present study evaluated a minimal intervention that used normative feedback about population drinking to motivate changes in alcohol use. An intervention pamphlet was mailed to over 6,000 households in Toronto, randomized by block from a region containing almost 10,000 households. In the month after the mailing, a general population survey was conducted in the region to assess alcohol use. Respondents from households receiving normative feedback reported significantly lower alcohol use than controls, but this effect only occurred among respondents meeting an objective criterion for problem drinking. Viewed from a public health perspective, normative feedback interventions have the potential for a significant payoff because they can be provided at low cost and to problem drinkers who might ordinarily never access any treatment services.
Keywords: Alcohol Problems, Prevention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.