Attitudes & College Experiences

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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High volume drinking by young adults has proven resistant to long term change, so new approaches are needed. Given strong associations between alcohol-related attitudes and drinking behavior, the investigators adapt a theory-based attitude change strategy for use in alcohol prevention. This research tests the impact of a brief counter attitudinal advocacy activity on subsequent drinking and negative consequences.

Detailed Description
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The persistence of risky drinking among young adults in college calls for continued efforts to prevent harms related to alcohol. Current prevention interventions have achieved some success, but rely on a single mechanism of change: correcting exaggerated drinking norms. The investigators propose to test a novel prevention strategy targeting another mechanism of change: creating attitude-behavior dissonance. To date, changing alcohol-related attitudes and the resulting attitude-behavior discrepancy has been underutilized as a behavior change strategy for alcohol abuse prevention. Informed by an extensive literature showing strong and consistent associations between alcohol attitudes and drinking behavior, the investigators adapted a brief counter-attitudinal advocacy (CAA) manipulation to the alcohol prevention context.

Official Title
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Using Counter Attitudinal Advocacy to Change Drinking Behavior & Related Problems

Conditions
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Alcohol Abuse

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: CAA
* Behavioral: Control


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: 18-24 years of age Enrolled in the university's undergraduate four-year degree program Past month heavy episodic drinking (for men, >5 drinks in one day, for women >4 drinks in one day) At least two self-reported negative consequence from drinking in the past month Exclusion Criteria: • Status as a graduating senior

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 26 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Experimental: Enhanced Intervention<br>Participants assigned to this arm will complete a personal writing task about alcohol use. | Behavioral: CAA<br>* Participants will write about the use of PBS and alcohol use.<br>|
| Placebo Comparator: Placebo Comparator<br>Participants assigned to this arm will complete a personal writing task about eating behaviors. | Behavioral: Control<br>* Participants will write about eating and exercise.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in Alcohol Consumption from Baseline to 1-Month | Average of reports from past 30 days on the number of standard drinks consumed by participant over the past 30 days. | 1 month after baseline | 
| Change in Alcohol-related consequences from Baseline to 1- and 3-Months | The Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (BYAACQ) (Kahler et al., 2005) is a 24-item self-administered checklist of problems related to drinking; responses are dichotomous (yes/no) and refer to the past month which was collected at baseline and 5-months. The BYAACQ demonstrates strong psychometric properties and is free of gender bias (Kahler et al., 2005). | 1 month and 3 months after baseline | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Alcohol Intervention, College Students