Randomized controlled trial of a Spring Break intervention to reduce high-risk drinking.

Abstract

Objective While recent studies have documented high-risk drinking occurring during Spring Break (SB), particularly on SB trips with friends, published intervention studies are few. The present study evaluated the efficacy of Event Specific Prevention (ESP) strategies for reducing SB drinking among college students, compared to general prevention strategies and an assessment-only control group, as well as evaluated inclusion of peers in interventions and mode of intervention delivery (in-person vs. web). Method Participants included 783 undergraduates (56.1% women, average age 20.5) intending to go on a SB trip with friends as well as to drink heavily on at least one day of SB. Participants completed assessments prior to SB and were randomized to one of five intervention conditions: SB in-person BASICS, SB web BASICS, SB in-person BASICS with friend, SB web BASICS with friend, general BASICS, or an attention control condition. Follow-up assessment was completed one week after SB. Results While the SB web BASICS (with and without friends) and general BASICS interventions were not effective at reducing SB drinking, results indicated significant intervention effects for SB in-person BASICS in reducing SB drinking, particularly on trip days. Follow-up analyses indicated change in descriptive norms mediated treatment effect and reductions in drinking, while SB drinking intentions and positive expectancies did not. Conclusions Overall, results suggest an in-person SB-specific intervention is effective at reducing SB drinking, especially during trips. In contrast, interventions that contain non-SB related content, are web-based, or seek to involve friends may be less effective at reducing SB drinking.

Friend or foe: Personal use and friends' use of protective behavioral strategies and spring break drinking

“…Participants were all part of a larger study examining the efficacy of multiple conditions of a SB-related brief alcohol intervention (Lee et al, 2014); participants completed online screening and baseline surveys prior to SB, and an online survey of their drinking behavior one week after SB. Upon completion of the screening survey, participants were automatically randomized to one of six conditions: (1) in-person SB BASICS, (2) web-based SB BASICS, (3) in-person SB BASICS plus Friend Intervention, (4) web-based SB BASICS plus Friend Intervention, (5) General BASICS, or (6) Assessment-only Control (see Lee et al, 2014 for further details about interventions and primary study results).…”

“…Upon completion of the screening survey, participants were automatically randomized to one of six conditions: (1) in-person SB BASICS, (2) web-based SB BASICS, (3) in-person SB BASICS plus Friend Intervention, (4) web-based SB BASICS plus Friend Intervention, (5) General BASICS, or (6) Assessment-only Control (see Lee et al, 2014 for further details about interventions and primary study results). In brief, the design for the larger intervention study was a 2 (SB BASICS In-Person or Web-Based) × 2 (Friend Intervention or No Friend Intervention) + 1 (General BASICS (not specific to SB)) + 1 (Control) design.…”

“…All Friend Interventions were web-based SB BASICS interventions, that is each friend received personalized web-based feedback about their own intended SB alcohol use. More detailed information about the friend interventions can be found in Lee et al (2014).…”

“…Friends of participants were contacted via email, completed a baseline and post-SB survey online and were compensated $20 for each survey. More detailed information about study design, participant sample, interventions, and procedures can be found in Lee et al (2014).…”

Recruiting U.S. and Canadian College Students via Social Media for Participation in a Web-Based Brief Intervention Study

“…Some researchers have recruited participants through study invitation emails (Bendtsen et al, 2012;Ekman et al, 2011;Graham et al, 2008;Kypri et al, 2009;Lee et al, 2014;Martens et al, 2013;McCambridge et al, 2013;Palfai et al, 2014;Saitz et al, 2007). This recruitment method allows for wide reach to the university community; however, some institutional review boards (IRBs) may require participants to initiate contact with a study.…”