Clinical trial NCT03928067: Brief Online Study Abroad Alcohol Intervention
Official title: Online Intervention to Prevent Risky Behaviors During College Student Study Abroad Experiences
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Alcohol Abuse
Keywords: alcohol
sexual violence
risky sex
college students
Lead sponsor: RAND
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Loyola Marymount University
First posted: 2019-04-25
Enrollment: 1200
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 25
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: This study involves a randomized controlled trial that builds upon a successful pilot intervention study to address problematic and dangerous drinking among young adult college students studying abroad in foreign environments. Despite universities and colleges citing alcohol misuse as the most concerning issue for their students abroad, most institutions offer no empirically-based prevention efforts tailored to this at-risk population. The proposed intervention attempts to fill a major gap for the nearly 333,000 students completing study abroad programs each year by addressing empirically-based and theoretically-informed risk and protective factors of correcting misperceived peer drinking norms and promoting cultural engagement abroad. In addition to preventing heavy and problematic drinking, the intervention seeks to prevent risky behaviors and experience of sexual violence victimization, which are strikingly common among study abroad students and have the potential for lasting physical and psychological effects upon return home.

The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial of a developed intervention with a sample of 1,200 college students studying abroad from 35 U.S. universities and colleges. The brief, online intervention is text and video based and contains evidence-based components of personalized normative feedback to correct students' misperceived drinking norms, content to promote engagement with the cultural experience abroad and addressed difficulties adjusting to life in the foreign environment, and tips and strategies to prevent risky sexual behaviors and sexual violence victimization abroad. Participants will complete online surveys at five time points (predeparture, first month abroad, last month abroad, one-month post-return, and three-months post-return) to assess for intervention effects on drinking, risky sex, and sexual violence outcomes. The investigators will examine whether the mechanisms targeted by the intervention (changes in perceived norms, engagement in the cultural experience abroad) serve as mediators of intervention efficacy.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Between the ages of 18 and 25
* Signed up to study abroad in one of the 12 most popular destinations (i.e., United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, China, Ireland, Australia, Costa Rica, Japan, South Africa, and Mexico
* Plan to study abroad for between 8 and 21 weeks (approximately one quarter/semester)
* Have a working email address

Exclusion Criteria:

* None except not meeting eligibility criteria

Primary outcomes:
measure: Drinks per week
timeFrame: Past month (30 days)
measure: Binge drinking frequency
timeFrame: Past month (30 days)
measure: Alcohol-related consequences
timeFrame: Past month (30 days)
measure: Risky sexual behaviors
timeFrame: Past month (30 days)
measure: Sexual violence victimization
timeFrame: Change in any sexual violence victimization experiences from before study abroad trip through the three months following the completion of the study abroad trip
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Santa Monica
country: United States
facility: RAND
state: California
Study officials:
References:
citation: Pedersen ER, D'Amico EJ, LaBrie JW, Farris C, Klein DJ, Griffin BA. An online alcohol and risky sex prevention program for college students studying abroad: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2019 Aug 20;14(1):32. doi: 10.1186/s13722-019-0162-4.