A new study evaluated alcohol-induced amnesia (“blackout”) as a moderator of brief intervention effect on (1) alcohol-related consequences and (2) the proposed intervention mediators, protective behavioral strategies and peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Participants (N = 198) were college students who had reported alcohol use in a typical week. Participants completed assessments at baseline as well as at one-month follow-up. They were also randomized during an intervention trial to assessment only (AO) or personalized feedback intervention (PFI). Participants completed a series of measures and assessments including demographics, the Daily Drinking Questionnaire (DDQ), which assessed alcohol use, the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (BYAACQ), which assessed alcohol-related consequences, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale, which measures behaviors aimed at reducing alcohol-related consequences while drinking. The authors used hierarchical regression to examine the direct and indirect intervention effects. Results indicated that 44% of participants reported alcohol-induced amnesia in the past month. With respect to direct intervention effects, the interaction between group and alcohol-induced amnesia was a significant predictor of alcohol-related consequences at one-month follow-up (p = .01). Specifically, participants who experienced alcohol-induced amnesia in the past month demonstrated a decrease in alcohol-related consequences as a result of the intervention (p = .03), while those who denied past-month alcohol-induced amnesia did not (p = .88). With respect to indirect intervention effects, inclusion in the PFI group was associated with fewer alcohol-related consequences at one-month follow-up (p < .001), but increased use of protective behavioral strategies at one-month follow-up was not (p = .62). There was also an indirect group effect on alcohol-related consequences through peak BAC only among those who experienced alcohol-related amnesia at baseline.
Take away: This study found that alcohol-induced amnesia moderated the direct intervention effect as well as the indirect intervention effect on alcohol-related consequences.