College Student Daily Life and Alcohol Use Study

Purpose

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

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 18 Years and 30 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Inclusion Criteria

  • 1) 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

Exclusion Criteria

  • 1) 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

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Prevention
Masking
Single (Participant)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
No Intervention
Assessment Only
Assessment only condition, no intervention material delivered to this group
Active Comparator
Intervention (BAI) Only
Only the brief alcohol intervention, eCHECKUP TO GO, is administered to this group
  • Behavioral: eCHECKUP TO GO
    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.
    Other names:
    • eCHUG (former name)
Experimental
Enhanced Intervention
Brief alcohol intervention, eCHECKUP TO GO, + 4 weeks of text messaging boosters (Monday, Thursday-Sunday)
  • Behavioral: eCHECKUP TO GO
    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.
    Other names:
    • eCHUG (former name)
  • Behavioral: Text messaging boosters
    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

Recruiting Locations

Boston University Charles River Campus
Boston, Massachusetts 02215
Contact:
Bonnie Rowland, MA
617-906-6645
browland@bu.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Boston University Charles River Campus

Study Contact

Bonnie Rowland, MA
617-906-6645
browland@bu.edu