Alcohol Health Education With Personalized Feedback Boosters

Completed · Phase 1/Phase 2

Conditions studied: College Student Drinking

In brief

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.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT03440463

Run by

Abby Braitman

People needed

528

Starts

2017-04-11

Expected to finish

2018-04-04

Last updated by the study team

2023-06-22

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 24. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

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

Where it is running

• Old Dominion University — Norfolk, Virginia, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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