Alcohol intervention attempted for violent males

Mar 13 2005

Serious facial and dental injuries often go hand-in-hand with heavy alcohol consumption and violent behavior, especially by teenage boys and young men.

A group of dental researchers from the University of Wales (Cardiff, UK) conducted a randomized trial of a brief psychological intervention for males with maxillofacial injury, to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, delivered in a courthouse, on violent offenders' alcohol consumption, offending, and alcohol-related injuries. Two hundred sixty-nine males (ages 16 to 35) convicted of a violent offence while intoxicated were randomly allocated to treatment (motivational interviewing) or control conditions. At baseline, three months, and one year, the subjects were assessed for alcohol misuse, behavior changes, alcohol-related injury, and re-offending (via the UK Police National Crime Database).

In was concluded that a brief alcohol intervention applied immediately after sentencing for an alcohol-related violent offence had no effect on alcohol consumption or re-offending at three months, but did spark increased awareness of and willingness to tackle alcohol problems.