Individual drinking changes following a brief intervention among college students: Clinical significance in an indicated preventive context

This study investigated the clinical significance of previously reported st atistically significant mean reductions in drinking and related problems am ong college students in a randomized trial of a brief indicated preventive intervention (G. A. Marlatt et al., 1998). Data were analyzed over a 2-year follow-up for participants from a high-risk intervention group (n = 153), a high-risk control group (n = 160), and a functional comparison group (n = 77). A risk cutpoint for each dependent measure was based on the functiona l comparison group distribution. Compared with the high-risk controls, more individuals in the high-risk intervention group improved and fewer worsene d, especially on alcohol-related problems and, to a lesser extent, on drink ing pattern variables. These data from a prevention context clarify the mag nitude and direction of individual change obscured by group means.