Readiness to change drinking among heavy-drinking college students.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine motivation to reduce alcohol consumption among heavy-drinking college students. Specific goals were to test the factor structure of the Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES); present normative SOCRATES data for collegiate heavy drinkers; present a heuristic, using SOCRATES scales to determine stage of readiness to change heavy-drinking; and compare students at different stages of change on demographic and drinking variables. METHOD Participants were 278 (187 female) undergraduates who reported at least one episode of heavy drinking within the past 3 months. Students completed the SOCRATES and other questionnaires that assessed current and past drinking and demographics. RESULTS Confirmatory factor analysis provided modest support for the SOCRATES factor structure. Students were classified according to the transtheoretical model of change (67% Precontemplation, 20% Contemplation and 13% Action). Contemplators drank more often, consumed more alcohol, reported more heavy drinking episodes and experienced more alcohol consequences than the other groups. CONCLUSIONS Two thirds of the heavy-drinking college students did not recognize a need to reduce their alcohol consumption, despite evidence of tolerance and negative drinking consequences.

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