The pros and cons of drinking: A qualitative analysis of young adult drinking discussions within motivational interviewing

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine young adult motivations about drinking through qualitative analysis of client–therapist dialogue in motivational interviewing (MI) sessions. Participants were a random selection of 26 young adult alcohol users involved in a large hospital-based clinical trial (N = 423). All sessions in the clinical trial were audio-recorded and transcribed. For the present study, discussions of the “Pros and Cons of Drinking” were extracted, coded and thematically organized using grounded theory methods. These young adult discussions centered on motives for drinking behavior (i.e. positive motives, or reasons to drink) and motives against drinking (i.e. negative motives, or reasons not to drink). The most salient themes were interpersonal, followed by physiological and intrapersonal in nature. Physiological themes were most often negative motives, or reasons not to drink, such as getting sick and experiencing hangovers. Intrapersonal themes were primarily positive motives, or reasons to drink, that often highlighted the role of alcohol in mood management. The most common drinking motives, positive or negative, were interpersonal, illuminating the important role of social group membership in young adult alcohol use. Further, interpersonal influences on alcohol use appeared to depend on rejection sensitivity, suggesting that young people could especially benefit from an emphasis on social skills training and abstinence-supportive relationships when trying to reduce alcohol use.

• Alcohol use
• change language
• decisional balance
• motivational interviewing
• pros and cons
• qualitative methods
• young adults

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.