Motivational interviewing with injured adolescents in the emergency department: In-session predictors of change

This paper reports the process outcomes of a randomized trial of a one-session Motivational Interviewing (MI) intervention conducted with youth (12–20 years) in a hospital emergency department (ED) while undergoing medical care for an injury. The interventions targeted six behaviors placing youths at high risk for injury. Those youth whose counselors perceived their readiness to increase between the start and end of the MI session were 4.5 times more likely to have improved their use of seat belts 6 months later compared with youth who were not perceived to have increased in readiness during the session.