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Systematic Review
This Campbell systematic review examines research on the effectiveness of early, computerized brief interventions on alcohol and cannabis use by young people who are high or risky consumers of either one or both of these substances. The review summarises findings from 60 studies from 10 countries. The participants were young people between the ages of 15 and 25, defined as risky consumers of alcohol or cannabis or both. The review included 33,316 participants.
The interventions significantly reduce alcohol consumption in the short-term compared to no intervention, but the effect size is small, and there is no significant effect in the long-term. There are also shortcomings in the quality of the evidence. Interventions which provide an assessment of alcohol use with feedback may have a larger effect that those which do not, but again, the evidence is weak. The few studies on cannabis did not show significant effects in the reduction of cannabis consumption. There was no evidence of adverse effects.
Computerized brief interventions are easy to administer, and the evidence from this review indicates that such brief interventions might reduce drinking for several months after the intervention. Additionally, there is no evidence for adverse effects. This means that brief, computerized interventions could be feasible ways of dealing with risky alcohol use among young people. The evidence on cannabis consumption is scarcer, suggesting the need for more research.