First Years Away From Home: Letting Go and Staying Connected

NCT03227809 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: 123980-002
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 910
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Alcohol abuse is the leading cause of death and serious injury among college students, and students also experience significant harms from other types of substance misuse and risk behaviors. The proposed project is a randomized controlled trials that will test the protective effects of Letting Go and Staying Connected, a handbook for parents of students who are transitioning for the first time from home to college, the time when students are at greatest risk. The handbook encourages parent skill development and good management of their student's new independence, providing a clear framework to guide them in parenting at this stage. Targeted outcomes include reduction of substance use and risk behaviors. The primary hypothesis is that students who are in one of the two handbook conditions with their parents will report lower substance use and risk behaviors in the two years after college entry.

Conditions

Substance Abuse; Risk Reduction; RIsky Sexual Behavior

Keywords

College student risk behavior prevention; Substance use; Alcohol; Marijuana; Illicit drugs; Prescription drug misuse; Risky sexual behaviors

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change over time in 30-day alcohol use

  We expect to see differences between conditions in amount of 30-day (past-month) alcohol use from baseline through 104 weeks after baseline. Consistent with our analysis profile, we will examine change over time in 30-day alcohol use for each arm of the study and test for differences across conditions in the slope of change.

  At baseline students are asked if about 30-day alcohol use. This same question is then asked 26 weeks, 52 weeks, 77 weeks, and 104 weeks after baseline.

Secondary Outcomes (15)

• Cumulative grade point average

  End of each semester during first two years of school, at 26 weeks, 52 weeks, 77 weeks, and 104 weeks after baseline

• Continuous matriculation at university during first two years

  End of each semester during first two years of school, at 26 weeks, 52 weeks, 77 weeks, and 104 weeks after baseline

• Past 30-day frequency of risky sexual behavior

  At baseline students are asked if they have engaged in any risky sexual behaviors during the 30 days preceding the survey. This same question is then asked at 26 weeks, 52 weeks, 77 weeks, and 104 weeks after baseline.

• Lifetime alcohol use (Cohort 2 only)

  At baseline students are asked if they have ever used any alcohol. This same question is then asked at 26 weeks, 52 weeks, 77 weeks, and 104 weeks after baseline.

• Past 30-day frequency of marijuana use

  At baseline students are asked if they have used any marijuana during the 30 days preceding the survey. This same question is then asked at 26 weeks, 52 weeks, 77 weeks, and 104 weeks after baseline.

Other Outcomes (13)

• Reinforcement of positive behaviors by parents (Aldeis & Afifi, 2013)

  Baseline and again at 26 weeks, 52 weeks, 77 weeks, and 104 weeks after baseline.

• Peer rewards for antisocial behaviors (Arthur, Hawkins et al., 2002)

  Baseline and again at 26 weeks, 52 weeks, 77 weeks, and 104 weeks after baseline.

• Parental attitudes favorable to drug use (Arthur, Hawkins et al., 2002)

  Baseline and again at 26 weeks, 52 weeks, 77 weeks, and 104 weeks after baseline.

Study Arms (3)

Handbook condition

EXPERIMENTAL

Parents in this condition receive a handbook designed for parents of first-year college-going students the summer before school starts

Behavioral: Handbook condition

Handbook plus condition

EXPERIMENTAL

Parents in this condition receive a handbook designed for parents of first-year college-going students the summer before school starts plus a series of text messages during students' first year of college

Behavioral: Handbook plus condition

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Parents receive treatment as usual of incoming university student parents

Interventions

Handbook condition BEHAVIORAL

Parents of first-year university students receive parent handbook summer before start of university. Handbook contains suggestions for activities and conversations parents can conduct with students.

Also known as: First Years Away from Home

Handbook condition

Handbook plus condition BEHAVIORAL

Parents of first-year university students receive parent handbook summer before start of university. Handbook contains suggestions for activities and conversations parents can conduct with students. Parent also receive text messages throughout the year.

Also known as: First Years Away from Home

Handbook plus condition

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 17 Years - 22 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Students at least 17 and under 22 years of age who are attending college for first time

You may not qualify if:

• Non-English speaking students/parents
• Students whose primary residence is outside the U.S.
• Students who will be living at home rather than at school

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Washington State University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington, 99164, United States

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Bruzios KE, Cooper BR, Duckworth J, Hill CM, Hill L. Classes of Caregiver-Student Responsiveness to a Self-Directed Handbook Preventive Intervention and Their Associated Impact on First-Year Student Substance Use. Prev Sci. 2025 Aug;26(6):956-967. doi: 10.1007/s11121-025-01832-9. Epub 2025 Jul 31.

  PMID: 40745513 DERIVED

• Hill LG, Bumpus M, Haggerty KP, Catalano RF, Cooper BR, Skinner ML. "Letting Go and Staying Connected": Substance Use Outcomes from a Developmentally Targeted Intervention for Parents of College Students. Prev Sci. 2023 Aug;24(6):1174-1186. doi: 10.1007/s11121-023-01520-6. Epub 2023 Mar 18.

  PMID: 36933101 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Substance-Related Disorders; Risk Reduction Behavior; Marijuana Abuse; Prescription Drug Misuse

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders; Behavior; Drug Misuse

Study Officials

• Laura G Hill, PhD

  Washington State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Model Details: Two experimental groups (one group receives a handbook, one group receives a handbook plus text messages) and one control group (no intervention)

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 3, 2017
• First Posted: July 24, 2017
• Study Start: April 1, 2017
• Primary Completion: May 11, 2020
• Study Completion: September 14, 2021
• Last Updated: May 19, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-05

Locations

US (1)