People who want more control over drinking needed for UQ study
People who would like more control over their alcoholic drinking habits - especially during the festive season - are needed for a University of Queensland study.
The study's chief investigator, Associate Professor David Kavanagh, said study participants should be over 18 with a history of experiencing difficulty controlling their drinking when they were feeling "down".
The confidential Psychiatry Department study aims to teach people to drink in a safer, healthier manner, more in line with National Health and Medical Research Council safe drinking recommendations.
Treatment consists of a series of eight individual therapy sessions in which the participant will learn practical skills for controlling their drinking, including how to drink less when they do drink, and how to manage difficult "high-risk" drinking situations.
"The festive season is a time where opportunities for alcohol consumption increase, and tends to be a very high-risk time for people who are trying to control their drinking. It can also be a high-risk time for people without an alcohol problem to drink to excess," Dr Kavanagh said. "Other factors at this time of year make it more likely that drinking may increase, for example the weather is hotter, daylight hours are longer, social activities that involve the consumption of alcohol seem to increase, for example, the good old Aussie barbecue."
Dr Kavanagh offered some general tips for reduced and safer drinking over the Christmas period:
o Plan how much you intend to drink for each particular occasion.
o Plan how you might be able to keep your drinking to those limits, for example, who will be driving, how much alcohol you will take with you if it is a BYO event.
o Consider where you can safely leave your car in case you decide you would like to take a taxi home.
o Be aware of factors that might make controlled drinking more difficult, such as the presence of heavy drinking friends, and develop strategies for dealing with these before you put yourself in that situation.
o Simple things, such as using smaller glasses, drinking more slowly, putting the drink down between sips, alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and delaying drinking can all be very effective in helping people drink less when they are drinking.
For more information, contact project officer, Natalie Shockley, on telephone 07 3365 5489 or Dr David Kavanagh on telephone 07 3365 5246.
