College Student Daily Life and Alcohol Use Study

NCT06365125 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 7313E
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 129
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Heavy alcohol use among college students is associated with a range of negative consequences. However, college students rarely seek resources or treatment to change their alcohol use. Brief alcohol interventions (BAIs) have been developed as an alternative method to address heavy alcohol use among college students and show promise in reducing hazardous alcohol use in college students. Despite the established efficacy of BAIs, effects are often small and short-lived, and additional research is needed to investigate how BAIs can become more efficacious and endure for longer periods of time, particularly for computer-delivered interventions to improve accessibility and scalability of these interventions to a wider range of college students. Boosters or adjunctive components to BAIs have been suggested as a method to enhance the magnitude and duration of intervention effects. However, there remains a need to identify and test booster approaches that are both appealing and engaging to college students and effective in reducing heavy/hazardous alcohol use above and beyond the magnitude and duration seen by BAIs alone. The purpose of the study is to develop and test a novel, text-messaging booster as an adjunct to a current, evidence-based brief intervention, eCHECKUP TO GO, aimed at reducing college student heavy/hazardous alcohol use. Participants will complete baseline measures and will then be randomized to 1 of 3 conditions, stratified by sex at birth: 1) assessment only, 2) BAI only, and 3) Enhanced Intervention (BAI + four weeks of text messaging boosters). It is hypothesized that those randomized to the enhanced intervention condition will show a greater reduction in heavy/hazardous alcohol use at 3-month follow-up compared to the BAI and assessment only groups.

Conditions

Drinking, College; Drinking Heavy

Keywords

heavy alcohol use; college student; brief alcohol intervention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Heavy drinking episodes

  Number of past-month heavy drinking episodes (consuming 4+ drinks for females and 5+ drinks for males in one occasion)

  assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up

• Alcohol-related negative consequences

  Number of alcohol-related negative consequences experienced in the past month

  assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up

Study Arms (3)

Assessment Only

NO INTERVENTION

Assessment only condition, no intervention material delivered to this group

Intervention (BAI) Only

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Only the brief alcohol intervention, eCHECKUP TO GO, is administered to this group

Behavioral: eCHECKUP TO GO

Enhanced Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Brief alcohol intervention, eCHECKUP TO GO, + 4 weeks of text messaging boosters (Monday, Thursday-Sunday)

Behavioral: eCHECKUP TO GO; Behavioral: Text messaging boosters

Interventions

eCHECKUP TO GO BEHAVIORAL

Single session, web-based intervention for college students aimed at increasing awareness of consequences related to heavy alcohol use and increase motivation to modify one's alcohol use.

Also known as: eCHUG (former name)

Enhanced Intervention; Intervention (BAI) Only

Text messaging boosters BEHAVIORAL

Text messages sent a few times per week following completion of eCHECKUP TO GO to reinforce concepts and assist with goal setting and goal attainment in everyday life

Enhanced Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 30 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• \) Ages 18-30; 2) report at least 2 heavy drinking episodes in the past month; 3) be enrolled in an undergraduate degree program; 4) own a smartphone with capability to run smartphone application

You may not qualify if:

• \) current or past-year treatment (counseling or medication) for alcohol or drug use, 2) history of delirium tremens and/or seizures as a result of alcohol withdrawal, and 3) a lifetime diagnosis of either bipolar disorder or schizophrenia

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Boston University Charles River Campus: lead

Study Sites (1)

Boston University Charles River Campus

Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcohol Drinking in College

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Alcohol Drinking; Drinking Behavior; Behavior

Study Officials

• Bonnie Rowland, MA

  Boston University Charles River Campus

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 10, 2024
• First Posted: April 15, 2024
• Study Start: March 22, 2024
• Primary Completion: May 1, 2025
• Study Completion: May 1, 2025
• Last Updated: January 22, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-01

Locations

US (1)