Alcohol Health Education With Personalized Feedback Boosters

NCT03440463 | Completed Phase 1 Results

• 2 other identifiers: 14-221K01AA023849
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 528
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Heavy episodic alcohol use within the college student population is widespread, creating problems for student drinkers, their peers, and their institutions. Negative consequences from heavy alcohol use can be mild (e.g., hangovers, missed classes), to severe (e.g., assault, even death). Although online interventions targeting college student drinking reduce alcohol consumption and associated problems, they are not as effective as in-person interventions. Online interventions are cost-effective, offer privacy, reduce stigma, and may reach individuals who would otherwise not receive treatment. In a recently completed randomized, controlled trial, an emailed booster with personalized feedback improved the efficacy of a popular online intervention (Braitman \& Henson, 2016). Although promising, the booster incorporated in the study needs further empirical refinement. In addition, the intervention originally tested (Alcohol 101 Plus) is no longer widely available. The current project seeks to build on past progress by further developing and refining the booster. In addition, it examines the utility of the booster after a different, widely-used, empirically-supported online intervention (e-checkup to go). e-checkup to go directly provides personalized normative feedback, but not protective strategies, the two components of the examined booster. Hence, the current study compares the reinforcing content (normative feedback) to the combination of reinforcing and novel content (norms PLUS protective strategies). There are 3 conditions: all participants receive the initial online intervention targeting college drinking. Condition 1 does not receive a booster email. Condition 2 receives an emailed booster with normative feedback only. Condition 3 receives an emailed booster with normative feedback plus protective strategies. The aims of the current study are as follows: Aim 1: Examine if novel feedback in the form of protective strategies enhances the reinforcing normative feedback received via booster email (i.e., a comparison of reinforcing normative feedback only versus reinforcing normative feedback plus novel protective strategy feedback). Aim 2: Examine previously identified potential moderators and mediators of reductions in alcohol use and related problems.

Conditions

College Student Drinking

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Alcohol Consumption at 3 Months Post-intervention

  Participant self-reported number of standard drinks consumed by participant in a typical week.

  Past 30 days (3 months post-intervention)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Alcohol-related Consequences 3 Months Post-intervention

  Past 30 days (3 months post-intervention)

Study Arms (3)

Intervention-only Control

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Participants navigate through e-checkup to go, the well-established alcohol intervention. Their email 2 weeks later contains only a reminder to participate in follow-up surveys.

Behavioral: e-checkup to go

Intervention plus Norms-only booster

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants navigate through e-checkup to go, the well-established alcohol intervention. Their email 2 weeks later contains a reminder to participate in follow-up surveys, plus personalized feedback based on participant reported perceived alcohol norms, actual alcohol norms, and their own use.

Behavioral: e-checkup to go; Behavioral: Norms-only booster

Intervention plus Norms-plus-Strategies booster

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants navigate through e-checkup to go, the well-established alcohol intervention. Their email 2 weeks later contains a reminder to participate in follow-up surveys, plus personalized feedback based on participant reported perceived alcohol norms, actual alcohol norms, and their own use. It also includes reported harm reduction strategies, and other strategies they might consider.

Behavioral: e-checkup to go; Behavioral: Norms-plus-Strategies booster

Interventions

e-checkup to go BEHAVIORAL

The e-checkup to go substance program is designed to motivate individuals to reduce their consumption using personalized information about their own use and risk factors. The program is a combination of several components including alcohol education, personalized feedback, attitude-focused strategies, and skills training. It is self-guided and requires no face-to-face time with an administrator. It provides tailored feedback regarding quantity and frequency of alcohol use, normative comparisons, physical health information, amount and percent of income spent on alcohol, negative consequences feedback, explanation and advice for how to reach their goals, and resources.

Intervention plus Norms-only booster; Intervention plus Norms-plus-Strategies booster; Intervention-only Control

Norms-only booster BEHAVIORAL

Booster emails will contain normative feedback indicating average consumption for students at the same institution by sex, their perceptions of student drinkers at the same institution, their own reported consumption, and how they compare.

Intervention plus Norms-only booster

Norms-plus-Strategies booster BEHAVIORAL

Booster emails will contain normative feedback indicating average consumption for students at the same institution by sex, their perceptions of student drinkers at the same institution, their own reported consumption, and how they compare. These booster emails will also contain reminders of strategies they can use to protect themselves from alcohol-related harm, both ones they've reported using in the past and others they might consider using in the future.

Intervention plus Norms-plus-Strategies booster

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 24 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Current college students at the sponsor institution at the time of enrollment
• Between the ages of 18 and 24
• Consumed at least standard drink of alcohol in the past 2 weeks

You may not qualify if:

• Under age of 18
• Over age of 24
• Not a college student
• Did not drink alcohol in the past 2 weeks

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Abby Braitman: lead
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, Virginia, 23529, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Braitman AL, Strowger M, Lau-Barraco C, Shipley JL, Kelley ML, Carey KB. Examining the added value of harm reduction strategies to emailed boosters to extend the effects of online interventions for college drinkers. Psychol Addict Behav. 2022 Sep;36(6):635-647. doi: 10.1037/adb0000755. Epub 2021 Jun 3.

  PMID: 34081487 RESULT

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcohol Drinking in College

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Alcohol Drinking; Drinking Behavior; Behavior

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dr. Abby Braitman
• Organization: Old Dominion University

abraitma@odu.edu

757-683-3708

Study Officials

• Abby L Braitman, Ph.D.

  Old Dominion University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: phase 1
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Masking Details: The intervention is an online program, not an individual, so masking is not necessary. Similarly, the same online survey is deployed in all follow-up assessments regardless of condition, and data are not collected by individuals, so masking is not necessary.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Research Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 14, 2018
• First Posted: February 22, 2018
• Study Start: April 11, 2017
• Primary Completion: April 4, 2018
• Study Completion: April 4, 2018
• Last Updated: June 22, 2023
• Results First Posted: June 22, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)