Abstract

ANDRETTA, Ilana  and  OLIVEIRA, Margareth da Silva. Motivational interview with adolescent drug users who have an infringement. Psicol. Reflex. Crit. [online]. 2011, vol.24, n.2, pp. 218-226. ISSN 0102-7972.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-79722011000200002.

Drug addiction in adolescence is a public health problem with high cost to the society, and there is a direct relationship between it and the commission of an infringement. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Motivational Interview (MS) in adolescent drug users who have committed an infringement. We used the Motivational Interview in the experimental group and the Psychoeducation in the control group. Forty eight adolescents participated of the study: 27 in the MS group and 21 in the group of Psychoeducation. The group of MS decreased consumption of marijuana and tobacco and the Psychoeducation group decreased the consumption of marijuana and alcohol. With respect to motivation, regardless of group settings, there was reduction in the average of pre-contemplation. The techniques presented positive results in terms of reducing drug use and the average of pre-contemplation. However, there was no significant difference between the two techniques.

Keywords : Motivational interview; Psychoeducation; Adolescent offenders; Drugs.