Abstract
BackgroundNorms clarification has been identified as an effective component of college student drinking interventions, prompting research on norms clarification as a single-component intervention known as Personalized Normative Feedback (PNF). Previous reviews have examined PNF in combination with other components but not as a stand-alone intervention.ObjectivesTo investigate the degree to which computer-delivered stand-alone personalized normative feedback interventions reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms among college students and to compare gender-neutral and gender-specific PNF.Data SourcesElectronic databases were searched systematically through November 2014. Reference lists were reviewed manually and forward and backward searches were conducted.Selection CriteriaOutcome studies that compared computer-delivered, stand-alone PNF intervention with an assessment only, attention-matched, or active treatment control and reported alcohol use and harms among college students.MethodsBetween-group effect sizes were calculated as the standardized mean difference in change scores between treatment and control groups divided by pooled standard deviation. Within-group effect sizes were calculated as the raw mean difference between baseline and follow-up divided by pooled within-groups standard deviation.ResultsEight studies (13 interventions) with a total of 2,050 participants were included. Compared to control participants, students who received gender-neutral (d between = 0.291, 95% CI [0.159, 0.423]) and gender-specific PNF (d between = 0.284, 95% CI [0.117, 0.451]) reported greater reductions in drinking from baseline to follow-up. Students who received gender-neutral PNF reported 3.027 (95% CI [2.171, 3.882]) fewer drinks per week at first follow-up and gender-specific PNF reported 3.089 (95% CI [0.992, 5.186]) fewer drinks. Intervention effects were small for harms (d between = 0.157, 95% CI [0.037, 0.278]).ConclusionsComputer-delivered PNF is an effective stand-alone approach for reducing college student drinking and has a small impact on alcohol-related harms. Effects are small but clinically relevant when considered from a public health perspective. Additional research is needed to examine computer-delivered, stand-alone PNF as a population-level prevention program.
Highlights
Alcohol is one of the leading causes of death among individuals 15 to 24 years of age worldwide [1]
Between-group effect sizes were calculated as the standardized mean difference in change scores between treatment and control groups divided by pooled standard deviation
Intervention effects were small for harms
Summary
Alcohol is one of the leading causes of death among individuals 15 to 24 years of age worldwide [1] College students in this age range are a high-risk group in need of effective prevention and intervention programs. At this high level of consumption, each additional drink is associated with increased risk for harms Given this risk, even a small reduction in quantity consumed could reduce the risk of another alcohol-related fatality. Even a small reduction in quantity consumed could reduce the risk of another alcohol-related fatality This is a key premise for prevention and early intervention programs for college student drinking.
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