Timing Personalized Feedback After Alcohol Health Education
Condition: College Student Drinking
MeSH terms: Alcohol Drinking in College
Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase 1/Phase 2

Summary: 
      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). A
      second randomized, controlled trial confirmed efficacy for students of legal drinking age for
      a longer timeline (Braitman & Lau-Barraco, 2018). Although promising, the booster
      incorporated in the study needs further empirical refinement.

      The current project seeks to build on past progress by further developing and refining the
      booster. In particular, to identify the most efficacious timing for sending the feedback. The
      content will be similar across conditions, but will be disseminated at different times to
      identify the most impactful timeline. There will be 6 study conditions: those who receive the
      emailed feedback 2, 6, 10, or 14 weeks after baseline, or at all of those times, or not at
      all (control). Thus, the aim of the current study is to identify optimal timing for sending
      the tailored booster feedback via booster email.
    


Intervention name(s): e-checkup to go; Feedback booster
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The e-checkup to go alcohol program is designed to motivate individuals to reduce their alcohol consumption using personalized information about their own use and risk factors. The program is a combination of several components including alcohol education, personalized feedback, attitude-focused strategies, and skills training. It is self-guided and requires no face-to-face time with an administrator. It provides tailored feedback regarding quantity and frequency of alcohol use, normative comparisons, physical health information, amount and percent of income spent on alcohol, negative consequences feedback, explanation and advice for how to reach their goals, and resources.; Booster emails will contain normative feedback indicating average consumption for students at the same institution by sex, their perceptions of student drinkers at the same institution, their own reported consumption, and reminders of strategies they can use to protect themselves from alcohol-related harm.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Treatment