Binge Drinkers Shouldn’t Set Their Own Alcohol Reduction Goals! Evaluating the Effectiveness of Different Goal-Based Alcohol Reduction Interventions among Young People

The present research aimed to investigate the relative effectiveness of three types of alcohol reduction intervention. Participants were 354 university students from an Australian university. After completing an initial survey, they were randomly assigned to either (a) follow national guidelines for alcohol consumption, (b) set their own personal alcohol consumption reduction goal, or (c) work with their peers to set a goal. Participants then recorded their alcohol consumption in a drinking diary over a period of four weeks. The results showed that participants in the personal goal condition reported significantly higher alcohol consumption than those in the national guidelines conditions, with participants in the group goal condition reporting mid-level alcohol consumption. This effect was moderated by binge drinking propensity. Personal goal setting was most likely to lead to higher alcohol consumption when participants scored relatively high on measures of binge drinking propensity. These findings highlight the point that different types of alcohol reduction interventions may be effective for different types of people. In particular, people who have a relatively high propensity for binge drinking should be encouraged to follow goals that have been set by authorities (e.g., national guidelines) rather than by themselves.