Health BehaviorNCT07686276
Brief Psychological Intervention to Reduce Alcohol Consumption
A study testing Self-incentive and Plan in people with Health Behavior, run by Lancaster University at 1 site in United Kingdom.
Trial summary
Continuous levels of hazardous alcohol consumption (i.e., 14 or more units per week) is one of the leading risk factors of ill health and early mortality, contributing to around 9,809 deaths a year in the UK. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Health Behavior
- What is being tested?
- Self-incentive and Plan
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 228 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited Kingdom
- Study dates
- 20 May 2026to 21 Jun 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
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 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Aged 18 years or over
- Able to understand written English
- Competent to provide informed consent
- Residing in the UK
- Regularly consuming 14 units of alcohol or more at baseline
Who cannot join
- Note aged 18 years old or over
- Not able to understand written English
- Not competent to provide informed consent
- Not residing in the UK
- Not regularly consuming 14 units of alcohol or more at baseline
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Continuous levels of hazardous alcohol consumption (i.e., 14 or more units per week) is one of the leading risk factors of ill health and early mortality, contributing to around 9,809 deaths a year in the UK. The aim of the present research is to test the effect of helping people to reward themselves when they have successfully reduced/abstained from their previous levels of alcohol consumption. Each participant will be randomly allocated to one of two conditions. The trial requires 128 participants to perform a fully powered statistical analysis. The two conditions include: (1) a control condition (asked to form a plan to reduce/abstain from alcohol consumption), or (2) a weekly self-incentivising condition (asked to reward themselves at the end of each week that they have successfully reduced/abstained their previous levels of alcohol consumption). The main outcome measure will be units of alcohol consumed/not consumed, which will be self-reported at 1-week and 1-month follow-up time points.
Read the detailed description
The research aims to test the role of self-incentivising implementation intentions for reductions/abstinence of alcohol consumption among people aged 18 and over, residing in the UK, and consuming 14 units of more of alcohol at the start of the study. The effectiveness of self-incentives has been successfully seen previously within health behaviour change, has not been tested in reduction/abstinence of alcohol consumption. Therefore, this research will build on what is known about the effectiveness of self-incentives used for increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, and smoking cessation.
This study is a randomised controlled trial with the between participants factor of condition which has two levels:
- Control (plan) or 2. Weekly self-incentivising implementation intention.
The within participants' factor will be time which has three levels:
Baseline (T1) Follow-up (T2) (1-week following baseline) Follow-up (T3) (1-month following baseline)
An ethical concern is that participants in the control condition may struggle more to reduce/abstain from alcohol consumption as they will not have the additional benefits of being within an experimental condition which uses self-incentives to aid their attempt. A control condition is needed to monitor if changes to alcohol consumption is due to the use of self-incentives or another behaviour change technique.
The recruitment process will recruit participants to complete an online questionnaire (via Qualtrics), from Prolific. Prolific is an online recruitment platform, which allows screeners to be set (e.g., age, residency, consumption level) prior to contacting potential participants. Prolific then contacts the participants to which the screeners apply, and the participants can decide if they would like to take part. The researcher can then set restrictions to only allow completion of the follow-up questionnaires, based on those participants who completed the online questionnaire at baseline.
All participants who are able to provide informed consent, are over the age of 18 years old, resident in the UK (due to discrepancies in the safe recommended alcohol consumption rates across countries), are eligible to take part in the study. Unfortunately, the study does not cater for people who cannot understand English at the present time, although this will be monitored for amendments in future studies.
The participant information sheet included prior to the online questionnaire includes details about the study, costs and benefits of taking part in the study, and the right to consent and withdraw at any point throughout the study. There are no risks involved in taking part in the study. Participants are reimbursed via Prolific based on the expected time to complete each questionnaire (i.e., £3.55 per questionnaire completed, which equates to more than the current UK living wage). There is a minimal burden in time taken to complete the questionnaires, which should take no longer than 15 minutes per time point, though this time estimation is considered generous.
In terms of confidentiality, participants will not provide any identifier other than their Prolific ID. This ensures that no identifying information is available to the research team, but that the participant can be added to the screener for completion of the baseline questionnaires, and that all questionnaires (baseline, 1-week follow-up, and 1-month follow-up) can be matched.
There are no conflicts of interest. Participants are provided with contact details of the research team, should they like to contact for a summary of the results.
- Conditions
- Health Behavior
- Being tested
- Self-incentive, Plan
- Keywords
- Behavioral: Self-incentive
- Medical subject headings
- Health Behavior
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Self-incentiveBehavioural
Participants read a brief statement designed to encourage them to reduce/abstain from alcohol consumption (we would like you to plan to reduce/abstain your alcohol consumption). Participants are then asked to specify a self-incentive on which they could implement at the end of each week which they have been successful.
PlanBehavioural
Participants read a brief statement designed to encourage them to reduce/abstain from alcohol consumption (we would like you to plan to reduce/abstain your alcohol consumption). Participants are then asked to form their plan.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioural: Self-incentive | Experimental | Weekly self-incentivising Receives: Behavioral: Self-incentive |
| Plan | Active comparator | Control Receives: Behavioral: Plan |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Alcohol consumption
Total units of alcohol consumed in last week
Measured: Up to 1-month
Secondary outcomes (4)
Alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT)
Changes in AUDIT scores
Measured: Up to 1- month
Compliance to self-incentivise
Whether participants allocated to the intervention self-incentives
Measured: Up to 1-month
Frequency of self-incentivisation
How frequently participants allocated to the intervention condition use self-incentives
Measured: Up to 1-month
Self-incentives used
What self-incentives are chosen by participants (monetary, BCT etc)
Measured: Up to 1-month
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted7 Jul 2026
- Study start20 May 2026
- Primary completion21 Jun 2026
- Study completion21 Jun 2026
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Health BehaviorStudies 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
- Investigator
- Enrolment
- 228 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Lancaster University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Emma Brown, Lancaster University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07686276
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- FHM-2024-4354-RECR-4
- Status last verified
- Jun 2026
- First submitted
- 30 Jun 2026
- Last updated
- 7 Jul 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided: Data may be shared if this complies with ethical guidelines
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 7 Jul 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Brief Psychological Intervention to Reduce Alcohol Consumption
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07686276
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- FHM-2024-4354-RECR-4
- Conditions
- Health Behavior
- Keywords
- Behavioral: Self-incentive
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 228 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Lancaster UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 20 May 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 21 Jun 2026 (actual)
- Study completion
- 21 Jun 2026 (actual)
- First posted
- 7 Jul 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Continuous levels of hazardous alcohol consumption (i.e., 14 or more units per week) is one of the leading risk factors of ill health and early mortality, contributing to around 9,809 deaths a year in the UK. The aim of the present research is to test the effect of helping people to reward themselves when they have successfully reduced/abstained from their previous levels of alcohol consumption. Each participant will be randomly allocated to one of two conditions. The trial requires 128 participants to perform a fully powered statistical analysis. The two conditions include: (1) a control condition (asked to form a plan to reduce/abstain from alcohol consumption), or (2) a weekly self-incentivising condition (asked to reward themselves at the end of each week that they have successfully reduced/abstained their previous levels of alcohol consumption). The main outcome measure will be units of alcohol consumed/not consumed, which will be self-reported at 1-week and 1-month follow-up time points.
Detailed description
The research aims to test the role of self-incentivising implementation intentions for reductions/abstinence of alcohol consumption among people aged 18 and over, residing in the UK, and consuming 14 units of more of alcohol at the start of the study. The effectiveness of self-incentives has been successfully seen previously within health behaviour change, has not been tested in reduction/abstinence of alcohol consumption. Therefore, this research will build on what is known about the effectiveness of self-incentives used for increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, and smoking cessation.
This study is a randomised controlled trial with the between participants factor of condition which has two levels:
- Control (plan) or 2. Weekly self-incentivising implementation intention.
The within participants' factor will be time which has three levels:
Baseline (T1) Follow-up (T2) (1-week following baseline) Follow-up (T3) (1-month following baseline)
An ethical concern is that participants in the control condition may struggle more to reduce/abstain from alcohol consumption as they will not have the additional benefits of being within an experimental condition which uses self-incentives to aid their attempt. A control condition is needed to monitor if changes to alcohol consumption is due to the use of self-incentives or another behaviour change technique.
The recruitment process will recruit participants to complete an online questionnaire (via Qualtrics), from Prolific. Prolific is an online recruitment platform, which allows screeners to be set (e.g., age, residency, consumption level) prior to contacting potential participants. Prolific then contacts the participants to which the screeners apply, and the participants can decide if they would like to take part. The researcher can then set restrictions to only allow completion of the follow-up questionnaires, based on those participants who completed the online questionnaire at baseline.
All participants who are able to provide informed consent, are over the age of 18 years old, resident in the UK (due to discrepancies in the safe recommended alcohol consumption rates across countries), are eligible to take part in the study. Unfortunately, the study does not cater for people who cannot understand English at the present time, although this will be monitored for amendments in future studies.
The participant information sheet included prior to the online questionnaire includes details about the study, costs and benefits of taking part in the study, and the right to consent and withdraw at any point throughout the study. There are no risks involved in taking part in the study. Participants are reimbursed via Prolific based on the expected time to complete each questionnaire (i.e., £3.55 per questionnaire completed, which equates to more than the current UK living wage). There is a minimal burden in time taken to complete the questionnaires, which should take no longer than 15 minutes per time point, though this time estimation is considered generous.
In terms of confidentiality, participants will not provide any identifier other than their Prolific ID. This ensures that no identifying information is available to the research team, but that the participant can be added to the screener for completion of the baseline questionnaires, and that all questionnaires (baseline, 1-week follow-up, and 1-month follow-up) can be matched.
There are no conflicts of interest. Participants are provided with contact details of the research team, should they like to contact for a summary of the results.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (investigator)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioural: Self-incentive | Experimental | Behavioral: Self-incentiveWeekly self-incentivising |
| Plan | Active comparator | Behavioral: PlanControl |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Aged 18 years or over
- Able to understand written English
- Competent to provide informed consent
- Residing in the UK
- Regularly consuming 14 units of alcohol or more at baseline
Key exclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Note aged 18 years old or over
- Not able to understand written English
- Not competent to provide informed consent
- Not residing in the UK
- Not regularly consuming 14 units of alcohol or more at baseline
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Self-incentiveParticipants read a brief statement designed to encourage them to reduce/abstain from alcohol consumption (we would like you to plan to reduce/abstain your alcohol consumption). Participants are then asked to specify a self-incentive on which they could implement at the end of each week which they have been successful. | Behavioural | Behavioural: Self-incentive |
| PlanParticipants read a brief statement designed to encourage them to reduce/abstain from alcohol consumption (we would like you to plan to reduce/abstain your alcohol consumption). Participants are then asked to form their plan. | Behavioural | Plan |
Primary outcome
Alcohol consumption
Time frame: Up to 1-month
Total units of alcohol consumed in last week
4 secondary outcomes
Alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT)
Time frame: Up to 1- month
Compliance to self-incentivise
Time frame: Up to 1-month
Frequency of self-incentivisation
Time frame: Up to 1-month
Self-incentives used
Time frame: Up to 1-month
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 7 Jul 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided. Data may be shared if this complies with ethical guidelines
Related trials for Health Behavior
Not yet recruiting
Effect of a Health Belief Model Based Digital Nudge Intervention on Breast Cancer Screening
Breast Cancer Screening, Breast Cancer Awareness
Not yet recruiting
The AYA Oncology Self-care Movement
Acute Lymphobkastic Leukemia, Medication Adherence
Not yet recruitingPhase 1
Consciousness and Psilocybin Effects on Well-Being: The CoPEWell Study
Well-Being, Psychological, Psychedelic Experiences
Not yet recruiting
Building Resilience Through Anxiety Virtual Education in PICU Survivors
Critical Illness Recovery, Mental Health
Not yet recruiting
Mandala Coloring in Late Pregnancy
Pregnancy, Anxiety
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 Self-incentive and Plan in people with Health Behavior, run by Lancaster University at 1 site in United Kingdom.
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 5 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 7 Jul 2026. 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 Kingdom. 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. 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?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
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?
Alcohol consumption (time frame: Up to 1-month). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
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 7 Jul 2026.