A comprehensive review of measures of protective behavioral strategies across various risk factors and associated PBS-related interventions.

Abstract

Harm reduction is a framework that places substance use on a spectrum from total abstinence to continued controlled use. Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are a set of individually implemented harm reduction strategies that have shown to reduce the rate of use and severity of consequences from risky behaviors. Previous research has shown that PBS use effectively reduces negative consequences. The present study provides an overview of the literature on PBS measures for various risk behaviors, and common interventions used in conjunction with PBS. Of the articles reviewed, 15 validated PBS measures were found and eight distinct categories of PBS interventions. The 15 measures reviewed included risk factors such as alcohol use/consequences (n = 8), dating and sexual behaviors (n = 4), gambling (n = 1), cannabis (n = 1), and condom use (n = 1). A survey of the literature produced eight distinct categories of interventions with varying degrees of effectiveness: (a) Brief Motivational Interventions, (b) Personalized Normative Feedback, (c) PBS Skills Training, (d) PBS Instruction, (e) Deviance Regulation Theory Interventions, (f) Behavioral Economic Based Interventions, (g) Counterfactual Thinking and (h) Episodic Future Thinking. Findings from the present study corroborate the notion that PBS effectively reduce negative consequences associated with behaviors, such as negative alcohol-related consequences, harmful cannabis use, and adverse sexual outcomes. Research on interventions targeting PBS is lacking in areas outside of alcohol use. Within alcohol use, the utility of interventions varies widely. Understanding the reason for this discrepancy is an important area for future research.

Using counterfactual thinking theory to change alcohol protective behavioural strategy use intentions

“…Several interventions, across multiple behavioural outcomes, have used PBS as an intervention target (see Peterson et al, 2021). Recent research has utilized deviance regulation theory, a social psychological theory, to increase PBS use and subsequently decrease alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences (Dvorak, Pearson, Neighbors, & Martens, 2015;Dvorak et al, 2016;Dvorak, Troop-Gordon, et al, 2018).…”

From if-then to here and now: Using personalized counterfactuals from past negative experiences to reduce future alcohol consequences.

“…PBS are specific harm-reduction behaviors that individuals can use, while engaging in risky activities, in order to reduce and/or eliminate risks inherent to the activity (Peterson et al, 2021). For alcohol, these behaviors tend to fall into three broad categories (Pearson et al, 2012).…”

Test of a deviance regulation theory intervention among first-year college student drinkers: Differential effects via frequency and quantity norms.

“…In contrast, SHR is often linked to problems, but not consumption (Pearson, 2013). Thus, although some PBS interventions have examined PBS as a single construct (see Dvorak, Troop-Gordon, et al, 2018; Martens et al, 2013), it has been suggested that interventions targeting PBS examine each subscale independently, rather than using a combined single construct (Peterson et al, 2021).…”