Clinical trial NCT04275739: Brief Academic Future Thinking Intervention for College Student Drinkers
Official title: Episodic Future Thinking as a Brief Alcohol Intervention for Heavy Drinking College Students: A Pilot Feasibility Study
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Heavy Drinking
Lead sponsor: University of Memphis
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2020-02-19
Enrollment: 45
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 25
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The present study investigated the feasibility, acceptability, and initial utility of a brief academic goal-relevant episodic future thinking (A-EFT) task among heavy college drinkers.

First, the study attempts to extend the temporal reach of EFT interventions which have demonstrated immediate reductions in discounting, and alcohol demand. The current study utilized a longitudinal design to evaluate whether EFT can change drinking behavior outside the lab in heavy drinking college students. The two-group experimental design included an active control group, weekly booster contact, and 1-month follow-up. Second, this study seeks to investigate whether the process of engaging in EFT is sufficient to produce effects when cues are not presented during the decision-making task. Lastly, this study adds an academic goal-related focus to the EFT task based on previous research indicating that forming meaningful academic goals is protective against drinking and associated problems.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Full-time Freshman/Sophomore Student
* 2+ Recent heavy drinking episodes (4/5 standard drinks in one sitting for men/women)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Current or past substance abuse treatment
* Current moderate/severe depressive symptoms

Primary outcomes:
measure: Daily Drinking Questionnaire
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Daily Drinking Questionnaire
timeFrame: 1-month post
measure: Alcohol-Related Consequences
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Alcohol-Related Consequences
timeFrame: 1-month post
measure: Alcohol Demand
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Alcohol Demand
timeFrame: Post-session - immediately after intervention;control
measure: Alcohol Demand
timeFrame: 1-month post
measure: Delayed Reward Discounting
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Delayed Reward Discounting
timeFrame: Post-session - immediately after intervention/control
measure: Delayed Reward Discounting
timeFrame: 1-month post
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Protective Behavioral Strategies
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Protective Behavioral Strategies
timeFrame: 1-month post
measure: Academic Engagement
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Academic Engagement
timeFrame: 1-month post
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Memphis
country: United States
facility: The University of Memphis
state: Tennessee
Study officials:
References:
citation: Voss AT, Jorgensen MK, Murphy JG. Episodic future thinking as a brief alcohol intervention for heavy drinking college students: A pilot feasibility study. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2022 Jun;30(3):313-325. doi: 10.1037/pha0000451. Epub 2021 Feb 25.