College DrinkingNCT03864237
Text-based Alcohol Prevention for First Year College Students
A study testing Alcohol texts in people with College Drinking, run by Brown University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This project aims to combat excessive perceived norms that contribute to high volume drinking by young adults, which adversely affects health and academic achievement. Campus-specific survey data will be used to craft accurate, pro-moderation campus norms, and deliver them to first-year students via daily text… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 20 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- College Drinking
- What is being tested?
- Alcohol texts
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 121 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 5 Sep 2018to 1 Apr 2019
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 20 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- 18-20 years of age
- enrolled as a first-year undergraduate student
- past month risky drinking
- possession of a mobile phone with text message capacity
- use text messaging at least weekly
Who cannot join
- currently engaged in alcohol treatment or in need of treatment (AUDIT score 20 or higher)
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Correcting Exaggerated Drinking Norms With a Mobile Message Delivery System
This project aims to combat excessive perceived norms that contribute to high volume drinking by young adults, which adversely affects health and academic achievement. Campus-specific survey data will be used to craft accurate, pro-moderation campus norms, and deliver them to first-year students via daily text messages during the first semester of college. It is predicted that those receiving regular exposure to pro-moderation drinking norms will reduce their alcohol consumption and consequences, relative to students who receive non-alcohol-related control texts. This preliminary evaluation uses a novel method of delivering drinking norms and will lay the groundwork for future efforts to scale up this novel alcohol misuse prevention approach.
Read the detailed description
Using mobile technology that most students already have in their pockets, this study evaluates a novel use of text messages to change campus drinking norms. The aim is to correct exaggerated perceptions of drinking norms, and thereby reduce excessive drinking, by delivering daily text messages representing accurate, campus-specific, pro-moderation descriptive norms (what others do) and injunctive norms (what others approve of). It is predicted that with repeated exposure over time, this information will compete with other sources of normative information to which students are exposed during their first year of college. This exploratory study is designed to develop and refine message content and to pilot test the delivery methods.
First year students (N=120) who are underage but report risky drinking (>4/day or >14/week for men; >3/day or >7/week for women) will be randomly assigned to two conditions differing by text content: alcohol norms or attention control. All will receive daily text messages throughout 10 weeks in the first semester of college. Process measures, 3-month post-test, and 3-month follow-up assessments will yield feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcome data to inform future larger scale randomized trials. Specifically, baseline, post-test, and 3-month follow-up assessments will allow us to test the hypotheses that the corrective norms intervention will reduce (a) perceived descriptive and injunctive norms, (b) drinking behavior (including high-volume drinking and risky consumption practices), and (c) alcohol-related consequences, and increase (d) protective behavioral strategies, relative to the control condition.
At the end of this project the investigative team will have gathered data on both descriptive and injunctive norms on a range of drinking behaviors to identify topics in need of corrective normative feedback, refined the structure and content of the text messages, and pilot tested the text-delivered intervention in a small scale randomized controlled trial (RCT). The proposed research will provide evidence of feasibility and efficacy of a text-based alcohol norms intervention for reducing excessive drinking among first-year students.
- Conditions
- College Drinking
- Being tested
- Alcohol texts, Attention control
- Keywords
- alcohol abuse, college students, preventive programs, text messages
- Medical subject headings
- Alcohol Drinking in College, Alcoholism
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Alcohol textsBehavioural
A text message each day for 10 weeks, containing factual information about campus drinking norms.
Attention controlBehavioural
A text message each day for 10 weeks, containing "this day in history" facts.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol texts | Experimental | Participants assigned to this arm will receive a text message each day for 10 weeks, containing factual information about campus drinking norms. Receives: Behavioral: Alcohol texts |
| Attention control | Placebo comparator | Participants assigned to this arm will receive a text message each day for 10 weeks, containing "this day in history" facts. Receives: Behavioral: Attention control |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Drinks Per Week as Assessed by the Daily Drinking Questionnaire
Sum of standard drinks consumed on each day in a typical week over the past 30 days; scores can be as low as zero but there is no upper limit as they are counts of drinks
Measured: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
Alcohol-related Consequences as Assessed by the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire
The total number of alcohol-related consequences experienced over the past 30 days is measured by the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (BYAACQ), which is a checklist of 24 items; scores range from 0-24; higher numbers of items endorsed indicate more problems experienced in the past 30 days
Measured: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
Secondary outcomes (5)
Protective Behavioral Strategies as Assessed by the Strategies Questionnaire - Alternative Sub Scale
self-reported frequency of using strategies to moderate drinking as reported on the Strategy Questionnaire; the Strategy Questionnaire has 3 sub scales including Selective Avoidance (0-70), Strategies While Drinking (0-100), and Alternatives to Drinking (0-40) and higher sub scale scores indicate more frequent use of those strategies
Measured: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
Perceived Descriptive Drinking Norms as Assessed by the Drinking Norms Rating Form
perceived descriptive norms are assessed using a variation on the Drinking Norms Rating Form, which asks respondents to estimate the number of standard drinks consumed by other students on campus for each day in a typical week in the past 30 days; daily estimates are summed to yield perceived number of drinks per week for student peers; range of scores can go from zero to no upper limit
Measured: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
Perceived Injunctive Drinking Norms as Assessed by an Adaptation of the Drinking Norms Rating Form
perceived injunctive norms are assessed using the Krieger et al. (2016) adaptation of the Drinking Norms Rating Form, which asks respondents to estimate the how many standard drinks is deemed acceptable by other students on campus to drink on each day in a typical week in the past 30 days; estimates are summed to yield number of drinks per week approved of by student peers; the scores can range from zero to no upper limit
Measured: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
Protective Behavioral Strategies as Assessed by the Strategies Questionnaire - Selective Avoidance Sub Scale
self-reported frequency of using strategies to moderate drinking as reported on the Strategy Questionnaire; the Strategy Questionnaire has 3 sub scales including Selective Avoidance (0-70), Strategies While Drinking (0-100), and Alternatives to Drinking (0-40) and higher sub scale scores indicate more frequent use of those strategies
Measured: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
Protective Behavioral Strategies as Assessed by the Strategies Questionnaire - Strategies Sub Scale
self-reported frequency of using strategies to moderate drinking as reported on the Strategy Questionnaire; the Strategy Questionnaire has 3 sub scales including Selective Avoidance (0-70), Strategies While Drinking (0-100), and Alternatives to Drinking (0-40) and higher sub scale scores indicate more frequent use of those strategies
Measured: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted6 Mar 2019
- Study start5 Sep 2018
- Primary completion1 Apr 2019
- Study completion1 Apr 2019
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for College DrinkingStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 121 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Brown University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Kate Carey, Brown University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03864237
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- R21AA024771
- Status last verified
- Apr 2025
- First submitted
- 11 Sep 2018
- Last updated
- 16 Apr 2025
- Results posted
- Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: After all data have been collected and results of the study have been published, de-identified data will be made available to other qualified investigators upon request. The request will be evaluated by the investigators to ensure that it meets reasonable expectations of scientific integrity.
Publications
Carey KB, Merrill JE, Boyle HK, Barnett NP. Correcting exaggerated drinking norms with a mobile message delivery system: Selective prevention with heavy-drinking first-year college students. Psychol Addict Behav. 2020 May;34(3):454-464. doi: 10.1037/adb0000566. Epub 2020 Mar 2.
PubMed 32118463
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 16 Apr 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Correcting Exaggerated Drinking Norms With a Mobile Message Delivery System
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03864237
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- R21AA024771
- Conditions
- College Drinking
- Keywords
- alcohol abuse, college students, preventive programs, text messages
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 121 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Brown UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 5 Sep 2018 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Apr 2019 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Apr 2019 (actual)
- First posted
- 6 Mar 2019 (actual)
- Results
- Posted 16 Apr 2025
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This project aims to combat excessive perceived norms that contribute to high volume drinking by young adults, which adversely affects health and academic achievement. Campus-specific survey data will be used to craft accurate, pro-moderation campus norms, and deliver them to first-year students via daily text messages during the first semester of college. It is predicted that those receiving regular exposure to pro-moderation drinking norms will reduce their alcohol consumption and consequences, relative to students who receive non-alcohol-related control texts. This preliminary evaluation uses a novel method of delivering drinking norms and will lay the groundwork for future efforts to scale up this novel alcohol misuse prevention approach.
Detailed description
Using mobile technology that most students already have in their pockets, this study evaluates a novel use of text messages to change campus drinking norms. The aim is to correct exaggerated perceptions of drinking norms, and thereby reduce excessive drinking, by delivering daily text messages representing accurate, campus-specific, pro-moderation descriptive norms (what others do) and injunctive norms (what others approve of). It is predicted that with repeated exposure over time, this information will compete with other sources of normative information to which students are exposed during their first year of college. This exploratory study is designed to develop and refine message content and to pilot test the delivery methods.
First year students (N=120) who are underage but report risky drinking (>4/day or >14/week for men; >3/day or >7/week for women) will be randomly assigned to two conditions differing by text content: alcohol norms or attention control. All will receive daily text messages throughout 10 weeks in the first semester of college. Process measures, 3-month post-test, and 3-month follow-up assessments will yield feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcome data to inform future larger scale randomized trials. Specifically, baseline, post-test, and 3-month follow-up assessments will allow us to test the hypotheses that the corrective norms intervention will reduce (a) perceived descriptive and injunctive norms, (b) drinking behavior (including high-volume drinking and risky consumption practices), and (c) alcohol-related consequences, and increase (d) protective behavioral strategies, relative to the control condition.
At the end of this project the investigative team will have gathered data on both descriptive and injunctive norms on a range of drinking behaviors to identify topics in need of corrective normative feedback, refined the structure and content of the text messages, and pilot tested the text-delivered intervention in a small scale randomized controlled trial (RCT). The proposed research will provide evidence of feasibility and efficacy of a text-based alcohol norms intervention for reducing excessive drinking among first-year students.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol texts | Experimental | Behavioral: Alcohol textsParticipants assigned to this arm will receive a text message each day for 10 weeks, containing factual information about campus drinking norms. |
| Attention control | Placebo comparator | Behavioral: Attention controlParticipants assigned to this arm will receive a text message each day for 10 weeks, containing "this day in history" facts. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 20 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- 18-20 years of age
- enrolled as a first-year undergraduate student
- past month risky drinking
- possession of a mobile phone with text message capacity
- use text messaging at least weekly
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- currently engaged in alcohol treatment or in need of treatment (AUDIT score 20 or higher)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol textsA text message each day for 10 weeks, containing factual information about campus drinking norms. | Behavioural | Alcohol texts |
| Attention controlA text message each day for 10 weeks, containing "this day in history" facts. | Behavioural | Attention control |
Primary outcome
Drinks Per Week as Assessed by the Daily Drinking Questionnaire
Time frame: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
Sum of standard drinks consumed on each day in a typical week over the past 30 days; scores can be as low as zero but there is no upper limit as they are counts of drinks
Alcohol-related Consequences as Assessed by the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire
Time frame: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
The total number of alcohol-related consequences experienced over the past 30 days is measured by the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (BYAACQ), which is a checklist of 24 items; scores range from 0-24; higher numbers of items endorsed indicate more problems experienced in the past 30 days
5 secondary outcomes
Protective Behavioral Strategies as Assessed by the Strategies Questionnaire - Alternative Sub Scale
Time frame: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
Perceived Descriptive Drinking Norms as Assessed by the Drinking Norms Rating Form
Time frame: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
Perceived Injunctive Drinking Norms as Assessed by an Adaptation of the Drinking Norms Rating Form
Time frame: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
Protective Behavioral Strategies as Assessed by the Strategies Questionnaire - Selective Avoidance Sub Scale
Time frame: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
Protective Behavioral Strategies as Assessed by the Strategies Questionnaire - Strategies Sub Scale
Time frame: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up
Results and safety
Loading the posted results from ClinicalTrials.gov…
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 16 Apr 2025.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, baseline, all outcome measures and adverse events.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 32118463Carey KB, Merrill JE, Boyle HK, Barnett NP. Correcting exaggerated drinking norms with a mobile message delivery system: Selective prevention with heavy-drinking first-year college students. Psychol Addict Behav. 2020 May;34(3):454-464. doi: 10.1037/adb0000566. Epub 2020 Mar 2.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. After all data have been collected and results of the study have been published, de-identified data will be made available to other qualified investigators upon request. The request will be evaluated by the investigators to ensure that it meets reasonable expectations of scientific integrity.
Related trials for College Drinking
Recruiting
Just-in-Time Coping Prompts for Reactive Digital Behavior in College Students
Emotional Regulation, Alcohol Drinking in College
Recruiting
Momentary Coping Prompts and Hair Steroids in College Students
Emotional Regulation, Alcohol Drinking in College
Recruiting
Centering Gender Affirming Resources in Higher Education
Sexual Violence, Drinking Heavy
Active, not recruiting
uSafeUS+ App Pilot Testing
Alcohol Consumption, Sexual Assault
Recruiting
Greek Connections Study
Heavy Episodic Drinking, Problem Drinking
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Alcohol texts in people with College Drinking, run by Brown University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 16 Apr 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 16 Apr 2025). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Drinks Per Week as Assessed by the Daily Drinking Questionnaire (time frame: Assessed over prior 30 days at 3 month follow-up). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03864237, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 16 Apr 2025.