A Pilot Mindfulness Intervention to Reduce Heavy Episodic Drinking

Abstract

Approximately one third of college students report heavy episodic drinking (HED; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2019), defined as four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men on a single occasion. This mixed‐methods study examined the feasibility of a mindfulness intervention intended to reduce HED. Thirty‐six students were assigned to either (a) a 4‐week mindfulness intervention or (b) a personalized email. The mindfulness group reported fewer weekend night drinks postintervention. Adaptations that can reduce barriers to attendance will be needed.

Intervenciones basadas en mindfulness para la prevención de recaídas en el consumo de alcohol: una revisión sistemática

“…La Tabla 2 recoge las principales características de las publicaciones revisadas. Seis estudios analizaron la eficacia de IBM en la reducción de variables de consumo de alcohol: cuatro aplicaron un protocolo completo (Brown et al, 2020;Nandrino et al, 2021;Witkiewitz et al, 2019a;Zgierska et al, 2019) y dos de duración abreviada (Cotter et al, 2021;Valenstein-Mah et al, 2019). Cuatro ensayos se centraron en técnicas o componentes concretos basados mindfulness (Caselli et al, 2016;Kamboj et al, 2017;Shuai et al, 2020;Vinci et al, 2016).…”

“…contaron con muestras clínicas con diagnósticos DSM-IV-TR o DSM-5 por consumo de alcohol (Brown et al, 2020;Caselli et al, 2016;Nandrino et al, 2021;Witkiewitz et al, 2019a;Zgierska et al, 2019) y otros cinco con población bebedora de riesgo, de los cuales cuatro fueron muestras universitarias (Cotter et al, 2021;Shuai et al, 2020;Valenstein-Mah et al, 2019;Vinci et al, 2016) y uno con población general (Kamboj et al, 2017).…”

Psychological distance intervention reminders reduce alcohol consumption frequency in daily life

“…However, less is known about how to effectively integrate these strategies into individuals’ natural environments where pro-drinking influences may be present 6 , 7 . Indeed, current data is mixed, with some studies showing that brief psychological distancing trainings can motivate healthier choices 36 , 37 , and others suggesting that such trainings require boosts from ongoing reminders 30 , 31 . To address the possibility that repeated exposure is critical for the effectiveness of health communications in daily life 47 , we conducted randomized experiments using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), which collects intensive repeated measures in everyday settings 48 .…”

“…However, less work has leveraged mindfulness-based strategies as preventative efforts within more ecologically valid contexts, such as throughout daily life, and among non-clinical populations, such as healthy young adults. Among at-risk young adults, mindfulness interventions have produced mixed effects at reducing drinking 30 – 35 . Some studies suggest that a brief, in-person mindfulness training can decrease short-term consumption 36 , 37 .…”

“…Some studies suggest that a brief, in-person mindfulness training can decrease short-term consumption 36 , 37 . Others call for more frequent and higher intervention doses outside the laboratory 30 , 31 . Although distancing-based mindfulness strategies may be a promising path to behavior change, more research is needed on how to effectively incorporate these strategies into the daily lives of young adults, to possibly harness their preventative benefits 38 .…”