ORIGINAL REPORTS: CLINICAL SCIENCE CORRELATES OF READINESS TO CHANGE PROBLEM DRINKING AMONG A SAMPLE OF

Background: The high rate of alcohol use among emergency department (ED) patients makes the ED setting an obvious target for increased screening and interventions. How-ever, interventions to change alcohol behavior may be applied inappropriately if a patient’s motivation to change is not factored in. In this study, we identify correlates of readiness to change problem drinking among a sample of ED patients with problem drinking. Method: Cross-sectional study of 295 ED patients who scored positive for alcohol problems on the CAGE questionnaire (score $1). Study measures include illicit drug use, exposure to violence, and having a primary care doctor as the main predictor variables and level of readiness to change problem drinking as the outcome measure. Results: Participants were 64 % African Ameri-can, 30 % Latino, and 80 % male; 46 % had less than a high school diploma; 85 % were not married; 72 % had no health insurance; and 85 % had no primary care provider. Whereas 12 % of patients were not ready to change their drinking behaviors, 47 % and 41 % were unsure and ready, respectively. Multiple linear regres-sion analysis showed that only the use of illicit drugs significantly affected the likelihood of changing one’s level of readiness-to-change problem drinking (P,.05). Female and married participants were also more likely to be ready to change their alcohol use behaviors. Conclusions: Recognizing that approximately half of ED patients with problem drinking are ambivalent to changing their behaviors sup-ports further investigation into specific clinical interventions aimed at motivating such indi-viduals along the continuum of readiness to change. Such interventions should also incor-porate strategies for addressing the co-occur-rence of illicit substance use. (Ethn Dis