Parent Intervention to Reduce College Student Drinking and Consequences

NCT04247191 | Terminated

• 2 other identifiers: 2R01AA012529-14R01AA012529
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 2,061
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

College students' alcohol use continues to be a major public health problem. Among the many consequences of this risky behavior are impaired driving and impaired passenger fatalities. Both college health administrators and parents have requested parent-based interventions (PBIs), and parents have demonstrated ample motivation to communicate with their teens. The proposed research will attempt to enhance an existing effective PBI, curb the alarming trends noted in the literature, and move the field forward by conducting a randomized controlled trial testing a modified version of the PBI that includes additional content for parents to establish clear lines of communication around the important topic of permissiveness (referred to as P-Chat).

Conditions

Underage Drinking; Driving Under the Influence; Drinking, Teen; Drinking, College

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Examine Changes in Alcohol Use

  A standard drink definition will be provided, indicating that a standard drink consists of 12 oz. of beer or wine cooler, 8.5 oz. of malt liquor, 4 oz. of wine, or 1.5 oz. of hard liquor. Using the Timeline Followback (TLFB; Sobell \& Sobell, 1996) participants will indicate how many drinks they consumed on each day of the past three months. For days alcohol was consumed, participants will also note the number of hours spent drinking.

  Baseline, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, senior year college

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Examine Changes in Impaired Driving (IMPD) Behaviors

  Baseline, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month

• Examine Changes in Riding with Impaired Driver (RWID) Behaviors

  Baseline, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month

• Examine Changes in Consequences of Alcohol Use

  Baseline, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month

Other Outcomes (7)

• Examine Changes in Parental Rules about Underage Drinking (Permissiveness)

  Baseline, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month

• Examine Changes in Parental Communication

  Baseline, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month

• Examine Changes in Alcohol Use Motives

  Baseline, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month

Study Arms (4)

P-Chat

EXPERIMENTAL

The P-Chat is a brief individually delivered intervention

Behavioral: P-Chat

PBI

EXPERIMENTAL

The PBI is a handbook developed by the PI to guide parents in discussing underage drinking, behaviors, and consequences with their teens

Behavioral: PBI

P-Chat+

EXPERIMENTAL

The P-Chat+ is a combination of the P-Chat and PBI described above.

Behavioral: P-Chat+

Control

NO INTERVENTION

This group will only complete assessments and will not receive any intervention.

Interventions

P-Chat+ BEHAVIORAL

The P-Chat+ is a combination of the P-Chat and PBI described above. Parents in this arm of the study will receive both interventions.

P-Chat+

PBI BEHAVIORAL

The PBI is currently a model prevention resource at NIAAA's College Alcohol Intervention Matrix and the research was discussed in the most recent Surgeon General's Report as one of the two prevention approaches that met the rigorous criteria to be considered "efficacious". The first section of the PBI provides an introduction to the problem of substance use. The second section focuses on specific skill building strategies that parents can use to improve communication channels with their teen. Third, is a section that addresses peer influence and provides strategies for developing assertiveness. The fourth section is an in-depth discussion of underage drinking, physiological and psychological effects, mixing alcohol with other drugs, motives for why students drink and don't drink, warning signs, risky binge-type drinking, impaired driving, riding with impaired drivers, alcohol and sexual assault, and how to communicate about parents' experiences when they were young.

PBI

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 19 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Parent and teen both consent and complete baseline (forming a dyad testing unit);

You may not qualify if:

• Outside of the teen age range; both parent and teen do not consent and complete baseline

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Penn State University: lead
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): collaborator
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Penn State University

University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Underage Drinking; Driving Under the Influence; Alcohol Drinking in College

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Adolescent Behavior; Behavior; Alcohol Drinking; Drinking Behavior; Criminal Behavior; Dangerous Behavior

Study Officials

• Robert Turrisi, PhD

  Penn State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor of Biobehavioral Health

Model Details: The first group receives the PBI parent intervention; the second group receives the P-Chat intervention; the third group receive the P-Chat+ intervention; and the fourth group is an assessment-only control.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 24, 2020
• First Posted: January 29, 2020
• Study Start: June 14, 2021
• Primary Completion: April 16, 2025
• Study Completion: April 16, 2025
• Last Updated: April 16, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)