Testing the efficacy of narrator empathy, self-disclosure, gender, and use of brief motivational interviewing techniques in a brief internet-based intervention for alcohol use.

Nonspecific relational factors, such as therapist empathy, play an important role in therapy effectiveness. Building on this literature, some researchers have attempted to incorporate relational factors into electronic brief interventions (e-BIs) by using interactive narrators to guide participants through the intervention. However, few studies have examined which characteristics of these interactive narrators increase intervention acceptability and efficacy. The present study sought to systematically manipulate animated narrator characteristics in an e-BI and to examine their effects on respondents' alcohol use and subjective reactions.