View clinical trials related to College Student Drinking.
Filter by: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). A second randomized, controlled trial confirmed efficacy for students of legal drinking age for a longer timeline (Braitman & Lau-Barraco, 2018). Although promising, the booster incorporated in the study needs further empirical refinement. The current project seeks to build on past progress by further developing and refining the booster. In particular, to identify the most efficacious timing for sending the feedback. The content will be similar across conditions, but will be disseminated at different times to identify the most impactful timeline. There will be 6 study conditions: those who receive the emailed feedback 2, 6, 10, or 14 weeks after baseline, or at all of those times, or not at all (control). Thus, the aim of the current study is to identify optimal timing for sending the tailored booster feedback via booster email.
This research project is designed to promote health among first-year college students by implementing an adaptive sequence of preventive intervention strategies to motivate heavy-drinking college students to access existing resources in order to reduce high-risk alcohol use and negative consequences. If found efficacious, the adaptive preventive intervention (API) has the potential to reduce both the acute negative health consequences (e.g., injury, alcohol poisoning) and long-term health consequences (e.g., alcohol use disorders) of young adult alcohol use, while seeking to leverage technology in order to use campus resources in the most efficient way possible.
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. The current project seeks to build on past progress by further developing and refining the booster. In particular, one aspect missing from online interventions is a connection with a person invested in improving the student's outcomes. The current study aims to generate a personal connection for online interventions through a follow-up booster emailed by a member of the research staff. Outcomes will be compared for participants who receive a follow-up booster with similar content, but is clearly automatically generated and not from any particular individual. There are 3 conditions: all participants receive the initial online intervention targeting college drinking. Condition 1 (the control group) receives an email with a reminder to complete the follow-up surveys, but no feedback (i.e., no booster). Condition 2 receives an emailed booster with normative feedback plus protective strategies feedback, clearly automatically generated. Condition 3 receives an emailed booster with normative feedback plus protective strategies feedback, from a member of the research staff. The booster content alone (automatically generated) may be efficacious, or the additional personal connection may enhance the effect. Thus, the aim of the current study is to examine if personal contact enhances the tailored feedback received via booster email.
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.
Alcohol use among college students is both widespread and problematic. There are many negative consequences associated with frequent alcohol use, ranging from mild (e.g., hangovers, missed classes) to severe (e.g., assault, even death). Online interventions targeting alcohol use among college students reduce alcohol consumption and associated problems. These interventions are popular among colleges because they are relatively inexpensive and easily disseminated. However, online interventions are not as efficacious as face-to-face interventions, such as brief motivational interviews. The proposed project employs emailed boosters in a randomized, controlled trial in an effort to improve the efficacy an existing, popular, free online intervention, while at the same time maintaining low cost and easy dissemination. Adding boosters after interventions is a common technique to improve the efficacy of the original intervention. Boosters have been used successfully for alcohol use interventions among those seeking injury treatment in emergency medical settings. However, prior research has not supported booster efficacy for college student alcohol interventions. The current project develops and evaluates the effectiveness of boosters for a widely-used college student alcohol intervention. Specifically, the present project improves boosters by providing easy access via email; providing succinct, personalized feedback; and providing reminders of protective behavioral strategies. To test the effectiveness of adding boosters, participants randomized to alcohol-intervention-plus-boosters receive emails 2 weeks after the intervention with tailored feedback based upon their reported alcohol consumption. Participants are assessed up to nine months. The current research addresses the following specific aims: Aim 1: Improve the efficacy of an easily-disseminated computerized intervention by adding personalized follow-up boosters, where efficacy is evidenced by reduced drinking and negative alcohol-related consequences (i.e., stronger effect sizes in the booster group immediately after receiving the booster). Aim 2: Extend the duration of the reduction in drinking and associated problems through the use of these personalized follow-up boosters (i.e., significant differences between the booster and control groups at later timepoints). Aim 3: Examine protective behavioral strategies highlighted by the booster as mediating behavioral mechanisms of change.