Drinker's Check-Up: Development and Military Modifications

Presentation #1 for Session "Development and Effectiveness of A Web-Based Alcohol Intervention in the Military" Abstract #162331 Moderator: Michael Pemberton (pemberton@rti.org, 504-947-8150)

The Web-based Drinker's Check-Up (DCU) is a brief motivational intervention for at-risk to problem drinkers modeled after the original face-to-face DCU developed by Miller et al. (1988) (Squires & Hester, 2005). In the program drinkers who screen positive on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) first complete a decisional balance exercise designed to elicit their ambivalence their drinking. This is followed by questionnaires that measure quantity/frequency of drinking, alcohol-related problems, symptoms of dependence, and motivation for change. Next, the user receives personalized feedback regarding their drinking based on these alcohol assessments. Last, the user completes exercises designed to: a) resolve any ambivalence about whether to change their drinking; b) help them choose specific goals (moderation or abstinence); and c) help them set up a plan of action if they decide to change their drinking. In a clinical trial of self-selected heavy drinkers, program participants reduced their drinking and alcohol-related problems by 50% on average from baseline to the 12-month follow-up. For PATROL, the DCU was adapted for the military, with an education model added for users not classified as high-risk drinkers, the addition of military norms in order to give personalized feedback on drinking behavior, and military-specific graphics and images. This speaker will describe the theoretical and empirical background of the DCU, the military modifications for the DCU, and will present a brief demonstration of the program.