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In this randomized controlled trial, the authors evaluated brief motivational interventions (BMIs) for at-risk college drinkers. Heavy drinking students (N = 509; 65% women, 35% men) were randomized into 1 of 6 intervention conditions formed by crossing baseline timeline followback (TLFB) interview (present versus absent) and intervention type (basic BMI, BMI enhanced with a decisional balance module, or none). Assessments completed at baseline, 1, 6, and 12 months measured typical and risky drinking as well as drinking-related problems. Relative to controls, the TLFB interview reduced consumption but not problems at 1 month. The basic BMI improved all drinking outcomes beyond the effects of the TLFB at 1 month, whereas the enhanced BMI did not. Risk reduction achieved by brief interventions maintained throughout the follow-up year.Keywords brief intervention; college drinking; alcohol abuse prevention; decisional balance; timeline assessment Many college students engage in dangerous patterns of alcohol use. Although most have not yet achieved the legal drinking age, about 70% of college students report drinking alcohol in the last month (O'Malley & Johnston, 2002). Their drinking patterns are often characterized by episodic but heavy drinking; as many as 44% of college students report recent heavy drinking (5 or more drinks an occasion for men, 4 or more drinks for women), and 42% of women and 55% of men report that "getting drunk" is an important reason for drinking .Heavy drinking among college students can result in an array of negative consequences. College drinkers frequently reported doing something they regretted (35%), missing a class (30%), driving after drinking (29%), and forgetting where they were or what they did (27%) after drinking . Some also report more severe consequences, such as getting hurt or injured (13%), damaging property (11%), or engaging in unprotected sex because of alcohol use (10%). Tragically, 1,400 college students die each year from injuries related to alcohol use (Hingson, Heeren, Zakocs, Kopstein, & Wechsler, 2002). Other students are also affected by having their sleep or studies disrupted, being insulted or humiliated, and receiving unwanted sexual advances from intoxicated students . Consequences of excessive drinking interfere with the academic and social missions of colleges and universities.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kate B. Carey, Center for Health and Behavior, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244-2340. Electronic mail may be sent to kbcarey@syr.edu. NIH Public AccessAuthor Manuscript J Consult Clin Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2008 July 3. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNumerous interventions have been developed to reduce heavy college drinking (Larimer & Cronce, 2002). Purely educational programs often increase students' knowledge about the effects of alcohol but tend not to affect drinking attitudes and behaviors (e.g., Robinson, Roth, Gloria, Keim, & Sattler, 1...

Previous research suggests that time perspective relates to health behavior; however, researchers have frequently employed inconsistent operational definitions and have often used projective or unpublished measures. The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory was created to provide a sound, objective measure of five distinct time perspective components. We examined the independent prediction of both risky and protective health behaviors from future, hedonistic, and fatalistic time perspective in 1,568 undergraduates using the ZTPI. Health behaviors included alcohol, drug, tobacco, and seat belt use, sex behaviors, and exercise. Future time perspective was related to increased protective and decreased risky health behaviors, whereas hedonism exhibited an opposite pattern though was a stronger predictor; fatalism was related only to health-destructive behaviors. Gender interactions reveal that hedonism is a stronger predictor of risky health behaviors for females.Health behaviors contribute to half of all deaths annually (Mokdad, Marks, Stroup, & Gerberding, 2004). Health-related risk behaviors (e.g., smoking, excessive drinking) are actions that may result in immediate or long-term negative health consequences, whereas health-related protective behaviors (e.g., condom use, seat belt use) are actions that maintain or improve health status. Public health efforts to enhance population health attempt to reduce risk behaviors and to promote protective behaviors (see Healthy People 2010; USDHHS, 2000), and are considered most successful when guided by theory (Fishbein, 2000;Fishbein & Yzer, 2003).Many behavioral theories purport to explain health behavior and to facilitate risk reduction and health promotion. Theories that are purely informational provide incomplete explanations and poor prediction of existing behavior and behavior change; more sophisticated theories recognize the important role played by motivational forces (Fisher & Fisher, 1992;Miller, 1985;Prochaska, DiClemente, & Norcross, 1992). One motivational construct that shows considerable promise in predicting health-related risk and protective behaviors is time perspective.Generally, time perspective refers to the relative temporal orientation that motivates (i.e., guides and influences) an individual's typical actions and goals. Zimbardo and Boyd (1999) theorize that time perspective consists of five factors: past-positive, past-negative, presenthedonistic, present-fatalistic, and future orientation (see Boyd & Zimbardo, 2005, for a thorough discussion). In health-related research, past orientation has demonstrated little explanatory capability among young adults; consequently, the preponderance of research with this population focuses on an analysis of present and future time perspective as predictors of health behavior.Please address correspondence regarding this manuscript to: James M. Henson, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, 244C Mills Godwin Bldg., Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529-0267, Email: jhenson@odu.edu, Telephone: 757-683-5761....