Employment and living arrangement moderate the effectiveness of BI among university students

Abstract

Background: Although BI has shown to be effective among university students in high income countries, little research has been done in Latin-America. Furthermore, evidence examining moderators of intervention efficacy is scarce. Certain characteristics that make alcohol more easily available to students, such as living outside of parental control or having economic autonomy to spend money on alcohol, could moderate BI effectiveness. The objective of this study is to evaluate the moderator role of the living arrangements and the employment situation on BI effectiveness.Materials and methods: Participants were 473 students from Mar del Plata National University (60% women, 40% men; between 17 and 46 years old (M = 20.34, SD = 3.9)). Prospective participants were screened and those with high-risk alcohol consumption in the last 12 months were randomly assigned to a control group or BI. After 3 months, they were re-assessed. The measures were: effectiveness (i.e. decrease in AUDIT scores (yes/no)), employment situation (work: yes/no) and living arrangements (living with family: yes/no). Fisher´s exact test was used to analyze the moderator effects of living arrangements and employment situation on effectiveness. Logistic regression analyses were performed in order to control the possible effect of age.Results: 76% of students lived with their families, while 24% lived alone or with friends; 42% of the students were employed. Living with family moderated (increased) BI effectiveness (9,310, p = 0.01). Similarly, not having employment (i.e. being supported by family) also moderated (increased) BI effectiveness (7,611, p = 0.02). These moderator effects were not accounted for by age.Conclusions: Living arrangement and employment moderated effectiveness of BI, suggesting that restricted access to alcohol may improve the effectiveness of interventions among university students.