Readiness to change alcohol drinking habits after traumatic brain injury

Objective: To describe how motivated are persons with recent traumatic brain injury (TBI) to change their alcohol drinking habits and what factors affect their motivation. Design: Survey. Setting: Acute inpatient rehabilitation program. Patients: Subjects were 50 patients with recent TBI during inpatient rehabilitation. Main Outcome Measures: Readiness to Change (RTC) questionnaire, Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), and alcohol use questions. Results: Subjects were 36 years old; 86% were men. Eightfour percent fell in the contemplation or action phases. Comparisons with a separate medical patient sample suggested that TBI may be associated with greater contemplation of change and greater readiness to take action to change alcohol use. Multivariate analyses indicated that within the TBI sample a positive history of alcoholism, alcohol involved in the accident, and higher daily consumption were associated with greater readiness to change (especially contemplation scores). Conclusions: Soon after TBI, drinkers frequently contemplate changing their alcohol use. This situation may represent an underutilized window of opportunity to reduce postinjury alcohol use and abuse. Motivational interviewing techniques seem well suited to facilitate change during this period. (C) 1997 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.