An Interactive Text-Message Based Brief Intervention to Reduce Substance-Impaired Driving Among College Students

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Alcohol-Impaired Driving

In brief

Substance-Impaired Driving among college students remains a significant public health concern and may be the single riskiest substance-related outcome among young adults. Brief Interventions (BIs) have been shown to reduce alcohol-impaired driving among college students, but are not often implemented - despite their demonstrated efficacy - because it is not economically feasible for universities to hire and train staff to deliver in-person BIs to all college substance users. Very few college students seek out substance prevention or treatment services available on campus or in the surrounding community. Innovative ways of delivering BIs to this at-risk population in a manner that is both effective and economically feasible have to be developed. The present study will be the first to examine whether a text-messaging-based substance-impaired driving BI significantly decreases substance-impaired driving among colleges substance users compared to an informational control. Participants will be 150 college students who endorse driving after substance use (alcohol, drugs, and/or combined alcohol/drugs) at least twice in the past 3 months. After completing baseline measures, participants will be randomly assigned to receive either: a) substance use information, b) a substance-impaired driving personalized feedback intervention, or c) a substance-impaired driving personalized feedback intervention plus interactive text messages. Participants will complete outcome measures 3, 6, and 12 months post-intervention. Repeated measures mixed modeling analyses will be used to determine whether the intervention significantly reduces substance-impaired driving over time. The project has two specific aims: 1) to evaluate a text based substance-impaired driving intervention in a randomized clinical trial, and 2) to determine whether the use of interactive text-messages sustains intervention effects over time. This study is innovative because it utilizes cutting-edge technology to deliver the entire intervention, enabling the study to reach a large number of students in a short time period at a low cost. The study is significant because it will contribute substantially to the substance-impaired driving literature by identifying an intervention that can decrease substance-impaired driving among this high-risk population. Additionally, this study will add to the newly emerging technology-based intervention literature.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT03496129

Run by

Western Kentucky University

People needed

105

Starts

2018-09-22

Expected to finish

2021-04-30

Last updated by the study team

2025-08-11

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Age 18 or older
• Currently enrolled (full or part-time) in college
• Ability to speak, read, and write in English
• Reports driving after drinking two or more drinks prior to driving at least three times in the past three months AND/OR reports driving after using marijuana or any other substance prior to driving at least three times in the past three months
• Reports having access to a motor vehicle, a valid driver's license, and plans to drive a vehicle in the next 3 months
• Reports access to a cell phone and willingness to read intervention material and exchange 3 texts post intervention with the study administrator
• Reports a valid email address

You may not qualify if…

• Currently in treatment for substance use or abuse

Where it is running

• Gary Ransdell Hall — Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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