College Student Alcohol Behaviors and Strategies

University of Wyoming

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Alcohol Use

Treatments: Behavioral: Protective Behavioral Strategies; Behavioral: Goal-Setting

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07156305

IRB-2025-254

Details and patient eligibility

About

The primary goal of this clinical trial is to examine whether the use of personalized goal setting related to protective behavioral strategies (PBS)-behavioral techniques enacted before, during, or after alcohol consumption to reduce risk and minimize harm-increases the use of personally selected PBS implementation. A secondary goal of this trial is to examine whether increasing the frequency of PBS use will lead to decreases in alcohol consumption, fewer alcohol-related negative consequences, and increased alcohol-related positive consequences. Researchers will compare a control condition, a PBS-only condition, and a PBS+Goals condition to address the aims of the study. Participants in all conditions will complete measures about current PBS use, alcohol use and consequences, and likelihood and confidence to change current alcohol and strategy use. All participants will receive brief psychoeducation on PBS. Participants in the PBS-only and PBS+Goals condition will select three PBS to use over the following two weeks, and select a strategy for remembering the PBS they chose. Participants in the PBS+Goals condition will receive psychoeducation about goal setting and identify two goals related to each PBS strategy they selected. Participants in all conditions will complete a follow-up after two weeks containing measures about PBS use, alcohol use and consequences, and likelihood and confidence to change alcohol and strategy use. Participants in the PBS-only and PBS+Goals condition will complete a measure to indicate whether they used the reminder strategy they selected at the two-week follow-up. Participants in the PBS+Goals condition will complete a measure indicating whether they believe they achieved their goals at the two-week follow-up.

Enrollment: 300 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 25 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Must report being between the ages of 18-25
• Must report engaging in alcohol use at least one time per week over the past two weeks, on average

Exclusion criteria

• Reports currently receiving or having received treatment for their alcohol or other substance use during the past two months
• Age below 18 or above 25 years
• Does not report having engaged in alcohol use at least one time per week over the past two weeks, on average

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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300 participants in 3 patient groups

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants complete measures at baseline and follow-up, and receive psychoeducation on PBS.

PBS-only

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants complete measures at baseline and follow-up, receive psychoeducation about PBS, select three PBS strategies, and select a reminder strategy.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Protective Behavioral Strategies

PBS+Goals

Experimental group

Description:

Participants complete measures at baseline and follow-up, receive psychoeducation about PBS and goal-setting, select three PBS strategies, select two goals related to each PBS strategy chosen, and select a reminder strategy.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Goal-Setting