Research out of the University of Florida's (UF) College of Health and Human Performance suggests that brief consultations with health professionals effectively encourages college students to limit their alcohol consumption, marijuana use and drunk driving.

Researchers separated 303 college students into a control group where students were provided with promotional materials and pamphlets about the dangers of smoking, and an experimental group where students briefly met with health professionals for a one-on-one health consultation about risk behaviors.

The brief health consultations proved to be more effective at reducing students' negative health habits and increasing positive ones, such as getting more sleep. "There were significant outcomes for those students who had the brief multiple behavior interventions," said study author Chad Werch, director of UF's Addictive & Health Behaviors Research Institute. "It goes beyond these particular behaviors; they are actually saying the quality of their lives has improved."

Werch said key factors in the model were that health professionals addressed multiple negative health habits and that the consultations were brief. "The whole idea is that these interventions are time-limited -- they are not intensive or extensive," Werch said. "The emphasis is on motivation."

Health professionals highlighted positive aspects of the students' self-image and avoided negative ones. "The idea that there are some central mechanisms like image that might contribute to reducing risk across multiple areas of functioning is intriguing to public health and seems critical for targeting risk reductions in addiction," said study co-author Carlo DiClemente, a psychology professor at University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

The research was published Sept. 18, 2008 in the online version of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.