EFFECTS OF CONTINUUM VERSUS BINARY BELIEFS ABOUT ALCOHOL PROBLEMS ON PROBLEM RECOGNITION, DEFENSIVE PROCESSING AND STIGMA AMONG HARMFUL DRINKERS

This programme of research reports a series of studies aimed at examining IBA interventions in university settings, among those delivering and receiving interventions. Three studies utilising both quantitative and qualitative methods investigated a) the motivations for alcohol use amongst students in two university settings, b) the views, opinions and reflections of interventionists and recipients of IBA, and c) the feasibility of implementing an IBA intervention and its effect on alcohol consumption amongst prepartiers and drinking gamers. The first study used quantitative e-questionnaires to examine alcohol motivations using a cross-sectional design. The main findings demonstrated that motivations for prepartying and drinking games differed from general drinking motivations, with pre-partiers and drinking gamers reporting increased AUDIT-C measures. Using a series of focus groups comprised of students, recipients of IBA and IBA interventionists, the second study provided a qualitative exploration of views, opinions, and reflections on IBA interventions. Recipients of IBA interventions reported more problematic usage compared to students and IBA interventionists. Thematic analysis highlighted two common themes across all focus groups. The first theme, Intervention Approach / Reflection, included evaluations on how interventions were constructed, developed, and implemented. The second theme, Social Convention of drinking included reflections on how alcohol experiences differ in social settings and the need to tailor interventions to groups specifically with the use of opportunistic methods. The third study was a feasibility study implementing an IBA intervention with students. Findings demonstrated that IBA interventions were associated with lower AUDIT-C scores at a 2-month follow up. Overall, the original contributions from this programme of research have been the sequence of research studies that have identified, evaluated, and feasibly implemented IBA initiatives. The evidence provided by the research has illustrated the need for intervention with pre-partiers and drinking gamers given the differing motivations and increased AUDIT-C measures. The research conducted in this thesis contributes to the alcohol motivations and IBA intervention implementation literature.