Brief intervention makes a big difference to teenagers in A&E

Brief motivational interviewing is a technique in which people are encouraged to think about their goals and how their current behaviour does, or does not, contribute towards achieving them. Researchers from the University of Michigan have been carrying out a project using the technique to counsel teenagers attending an A&E department in Flint, Michigan. They offered help to 726 teenagers aged between 14 and 18 who said that they had experienced aggression or had had at least two or three drinks in the past year. The brief interviews resulted in a 34% reduction in peer aggression compared to only a 16% reduction in a control group. The intervention also lead to a 32% reduction in alcohol-related problems over the next six months.

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