Alcohol Early Intervention for Freshmen (Transitions)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Alcohol Abuse

Treatments: Behavioral: Brief Motivational Intervention (BMI); Behavioral: Combined brief motivational intervention and parent based intervention plus boosters for both interventions; Other: Assessment only; Behavioral: Parent Based Intervention plus booster

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: NIH

Identifiers

NCT00852033

NIH Grant 5R01AA013919-04

NIAAA-Wood-AA013919

Details and patient eligibility

About

Alcohol abuse among college students is a significant and long-standing public health issue. The transition into college is marked by substantial increases in alcohol abuse and problems, suggesting the importance of interventions that take place prior to and immediately following matriculation. To date, early interventions with this population have yielded modest results with very little evidence identifying either the factors that are responsible for observed effects or specific individual or situational factors that qualify intervention efficacy. There is preliminary evidence for the efficacy of individualized feedback (IF) in reducing college student alcohol abuse. Additionally, a sizeable body of research with early adolescents and emerging work with college students point to the utility of parent-based interventions (PBI). The major aim of this research is to provide the first test of the unique and combined efficacy of these two successful interventions in reducing alcohol abuse among matriculating college students.

Full description

Using a 2 X 2 IF (yes; no) X PBI (yes; no) factorial design, this study will determine whether IF and PBI with "boosters" are effective in reducing alcohol abuse among incoming college students. It is hypothesized that groups receiving IF and PBI will demonstrate lower levels of alcohol abuse over the first two years of college than those not receiving these interventions and that the effects of combining these interventions will be additive (Specific Aim 1). Structural equation modeling techniques will be used to conduct mediational analyses investigating theoretically derived hypotheses about the processes by which intervention factors influence alcohol use and problems (Specific Aim 2). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses will examine hypothesized individual and situational moderators of intervention efficacy (Specific Aim 3). The use of a factorial design and explicit mediational analyses will allow for very strong inferences regarding the "active ingredients" of intervention efficacy. The long-term objectives of this research are to improve the efficacy of early interventions and to inform research and theory on the etiology of alcoholism. More effective interventions, particularly those that target students during a developmental transition of enhanced risk, will result in fewer injuries from acute intoxication, enhance retention and learning, and lessen the development of alcoholism as a result of chronic alcohol abuse.

Enrollment: 1,014 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 17 to 20 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• All incoming students who paid their university attendance deposit by May 1st of the recruitment years were eligible for participation.

Exclusion criteria

• transfer students,
• married,
• not living with a parent/guardian,
• returning students older than 20 years
• reached the alcohol use cut-off criteria (40 or more drinks per week and two symptoms of alcohol dependence)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Factorial Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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1,014 participants in 4 patient groups

1

No Intervention group

Description:

Assessment Group (no intervention)

Treatment:

Other: Assessment only

2

Active Comparator group

Description:

Brief Motivational Intervention (BMI)

Treatment:

Behavioral: Brief Motivational Intervention (BMI)

3

Active Comparator group

Description:

Parent Based Intervention (PBI)

Treatment:

Behavioral: Parent Based Intervention plus booster

4

Active Comparator group

Description:

BMI and TBI

Treatment:

Behavioral: Parent Based Intervention plus booster

Behavioral: Combined brief motivational intervention and parent based intervention plus boosters for both interventions

Behavioral: Brief Motivational Intervention (BMI)