The Effect of a Motivational Interviewing Program on the Intention to Stop Alcohol Consumption among Patients Diagnosed with Alcohol Dependence

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study with a two-group repeated measures design aimed to examine the effects of a motivational interviewing program on the intention to stop alcohol consumption among patients diagnosed with alcohol dependence. The participants were 60 male patients aged 19-59 years who were diagnosed with alcohol dependence and admitted to the psychiatric nursing unit for alcohol and substance abuse at Prasrimahabhodi Hospital. They were equally divided into experimental and control groups of 30 participants each. Data were collected from July to October 2025. The research instruments consisted of three parts: 1) personal information, 2) an instrument to assess the intention to quit alcohol consumption, with a content validity index of 0.93, and 3) a motivational interviewing program on the intention to stop alcohol consumption, which comprised of 6 activities conducted over 2 weeks, with a content validity index of 0.94. The experimental group received the motivational interviewing program, while the control group received standard nursing care. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and two-way repeated measures ANOVA.

The results revealed that the experimental group’s mean score of intention to stop drinking significantly increased from the pre-test to post-test and the 2-week follow-up (F=273.43, p<0.001). Additionally, the overall intention-to-stop-drinking score of the experimental group was significantly higher than those of the control group (F=13.55, p<0.001). The findings indicated that the motivational interviewing program was effective in enhancing patients’ motivation to change toward positive health behaviors, enabling them to achieve sustained alcohol abstinence and reducing hospital readmissions.