Motivational Interventions for Lifestyle and Exercise in College Students

Engagement in substance-free activities, such as exercise, has an inverse relationship to substance use in college students. While exercise has numerous physical and mental health benefits, the majority of college students are sedentary, infrequently engaging in exercise. Although exercise interventions to date often suffer from significant attrition and poor adherence, motivational interventions for exercise are beginning to show promise. In this pilot study we propose to develop and evaluate a novel exercise intervention combining Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) with contingency management (CM) in sedentary college students who use alcohol.