2 College Truths and 1 Lie

NCT06576011 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 5R34AA030139-02
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 392
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This pilot randomized control trial (RCT) aims to assess the feasibility and efficacy of 2 College Truths \& 1 Lie (2T1L), a gamified social norms marketing campaign (SNMC) aimed at preventing and reducing first-year college student drinking. This program is designed to correct overestimations of peers' alcohol use behaviors, which, as shown in previous research, influence one's own future drinking behaviors. To examine the efficacy of 2T1L, this pilot trial will use a longitudinal design to determine whether playing 2T1L during the first few weeks of college will prevent increases in drinking or reduce subsequent alcohol use among first-year students during the same year, relative to exposure to a static social media-delivered SNMC or an assessment-only control condition. The investigators hypothesize that students randomized to receive the interactive 2T1L SNMC game will report less state psychological reactance in response to normative campus drinking statistics than students randomized to the non-gamified SNMC condition. Further, students in the 2T1L game condition will report greater accuracy in their perceptions of campus drinking norms and consume less alcohol following the six-week SNMC (short-term follow-up) and toward the end of the first year (long-term follow-up) compared to those randomized to both the active non-gamified SNMC and assessment-only control conditions.

Conditions

Underage Drinking

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Change from Baseline Daily Drinking at 4 Months

  Self-reported number of drinks consumed during an average week in the past 30 days.

  baseline, 4 months

• Change from Baseline Daily Drinking at 9 Months

  Self-reported number of drinks consumed during an average week in the past 30 days.

  baseline, 9 months

• Change from Peak Drinking Occasion at 4 Months

  Self-reported max number of drinks consumed on a single occasion in the past 30 days.

  baseline, 4 months

• Change from Baseline Peak Drinking Occasion at 9 Months

  Self-reported max number of drinks consumed on a single occasion in the past 30 days.

  baseline, 9 months

• Change from Baseline Descriptive Peer Drinking Norms- Drinking Norms Rating form at 4 Months

  Assesses perceptions of weekly alcohol consumption among peers over the past 30 days.

  baseline, 4 months

• Change from Baseline Descriptive Peer Drinking Norms- Drinking Norms Rating form at 9 Months

  Assesses perceptions of weekly alcohol consumption among peers over the past 30 days.

  baseline, 9 months

Study Arms (3)

Gamified Social Norms Marketing Campaign

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants randomized to this arm will receive a gamified social norms marketing campaign that is primarily delivered via advertisements on the social media platform Instagram.

Behavioral: Gamified Social Norms Marketing Campaign

Social Norms Marketing Campaign

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants randomized to this arm will receive a social norms marketing campaign that is primarily delivered via advertisements on the social media platform Instagram.

Behavioral: Social Norms Marketing Campaign

Assessment-Only Control

NO INTERVENTION

Participants do not receive anything besides the surveys.

Interventions

Gamified Social Norms Marketing Campaign BEHAVIORAL

This intervention is a gamified social norms marketing campaign (SNMC) primarily disseminated via advertisements on Instagram. These advertisements will invite students to participate in a game about student life at their university, during which misperceived alcohol norms will be corrected. The gamified SNMC spans the first full six weeks of students' first fall semester in college and includes three rounds of play. Round one occurs during the first two weeks, round two during the third and fourth weeks, and round three during the fifth and sixth weeks. In the game, participants are asked to identify whether normative facts related to a variety of topics are true or false. Correct feedback is then provided, intended to reinforce accurate norms related to alcohol use, which are embedded alongside other facts about college life.

Gamified Social Norms Marketing Campaign

Social Norms Marketing Campaign BEHAVIORAL

This intervention is a social norms marketing campaign that is primarily delivered via advertisements on Instagram. These advertisements will contain normative facts related to student life at their university, during which misperceived alcohol norms will be corrected.

Social Norms Marketing Campaign

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 20 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Incoming first-year student with valid LMU email address
• years of age
• Checks their Instagram 1-3+ times per week
• Consented to participate in the study

You may not qualify if:

• Not an incoming first year student attending LMU
• Under 18 years of age or over 20 years of age
• Do not have an Instagram account or checks it fewer than 1-3+ times per week
• Did not consent to participate in the study

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Loyola Marymount University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California, 90045, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Underage Drinking

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Adolescent Behavior; Behavior; Alcohol Drinking; Drinking Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Masking Details: Study conditions are randomly assigned and the intervention delivery is automated through digital advertisements on social media. Senior members of the research team will have a record of the participants randomized to each condition, but the delivery of intervention content is automated. Junior members of the research team responsible for sending follow-up survey reminders will not be aware of participant condition assignment.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor of Psychology

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 23, 2024
• First Posted: August 28, 2024
• Study Start: August 5, 2024
• Primary Completion: May 15, 2025
• Study Completion: May 15, 2025
• Last Updated: September 9, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Locations

US (1)