The Technical Hypothesis of Motivational Interviewing: An Examination of Change Language in Traditional and Computer-based MI for Disordered Gamblers

Date
2019-04-12
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Abstract
Background: Motivational interviewing (MI) has shown promise as a brief treatment for disordered gamblers. The technical hypothesis of MI purports that MI-consistent therapist behaviours result in greater change language on the part of the client, which in turn leads to a more favourable outcome. The present research builds on existing literature examining client change language as the mechanism by which MI promotes behaviour change among disordered gamblers in telephone MIs (Study 1), a web-based MI program (Study 2), and in a controlled, computerized task (Study 3). Method: Transcription and coding of 50 brief MIs with disordered gamblers and path analyses was used to examine the links between therapist and client behaviours and outcome (Study 1). Multiple regression was used to examine 45 transcripts from the web-based program (Study 2). Linear mixed models were used to examine the effect of a brief, controlled, MI-consistent task on 335 participants’ self-reported importance and confidence of gambling-related behaviour change. Results: Results broadly supported previous findings that therapist MI-consistent behaviours were significantly associated with higher rates of both sustain and change language. Commitment language did not significantly predict outcome; however, the relationship between outcome and the proportion of change to sustain language approached significance. For the web-based program, only the negative relationship between participants’ sustain language and outcome approached significance. The controlled task in Study 3 did not significantly affect participant outcome; all conditions reported changes in importance, confidence, and gambling behaviour. Conclusions: Implications for treatment of disordered gambling, web-based treatments, and future research in MI are discussed.
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Keywords
Gambling disorder, gambling, addiction, motivational interviewing, brief interventions, longitudinal, repeated measures
Citation
Swan, J. L. (2019). The technical hypothesis of motivational interviewing: An examination of change language in traditional and computer-based MI for disordered gamblers (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.