Abstract
BackgroundThe prevalence of heavy drinking among college students and its associated health related consequences highlights an urgent need for alcohol prevention programs targeting 18 to 24 year olds. Nevertheless, current alcohol prevention programs in the Netherlands pay surprisingly little attention to the drinking patterns of this specific age group. The study described in this protocol will test the effectiveness of a web-based brief alcohol intervention that is aimed at reducing alcohol use among heavy drinking college students aged 18 to 24 years old.Methods/DesignThe effectiveness of the What Do You Drink web-based brief alcohol intervention will be tested among 908 heavy drinking college students in a two-arm parallel group randomized controlled trial. Participants will be allocated at random to either the experimental (N = 454: web-based brief alcohol intervention) or control condition (N = 454: no intervention). The primary outcome measure will be the percentage of participants who drink within the normative limits of the Dutch National Health Council for low-risk drinking. These limits specify that, for heavy alcohol use, the mean consumption cannot exceed 14 or 21 glasses of standard alcohol units per week for females and males, respectively, while for binge drinking, the consumption cannot exceed five or more glasses of standard alcohol units on one drinking occasion at least once per week within one month and six months after the intervention. Reductions in mean weekly alcohol consumption and frequency of binge drinking are also primary outcome measures. Weekly Ecological Momentary Assessment will measure alcohol-related cognitions, that is, attitudes, self-efficacy, subjective norms and alcohol expectancies, which will be included as the secondary outcome measures.DiscussionThis study protocol describes the two-arm parallel group randomized controlled trial developed to evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based brief alcohol intervention. We expect a reduction of mean weekly alcohol consumption and frequency of binge drinking in the experimental condition compared to the control condition as a direct result of the intervention. If the website is effective, it will be implemented in alcohol prevention initiatives, which will facilitate the implementation of the protocol.Trial registrationNetherlands Trial Register NTR2665.
Highlights
The prevalence of heavy drinking among college students and its associated health related consequences highlights an urgent need for alcohol prevention programs targeting 18 to 24 year olds
The study described in this protocol will test the effectiveness of a web-based brief alcohol intervention aimed at reducing alcohol use among heavy drinking college students aged 18 to 24 years old
The objective of our study is to assess the effectiveness of the web-based brief alcohol intervention What Do You Drink (WDYD) among heavy drinking college students aged 18 to 24 years old
Summary
The prevalence of heavy drinking among college students and its associated health related consequences highlights an urgent need for alcohol prevention programs targeting 18 to 24 year olds. Current alcohol prevention programs in the Netherlands pay surprisingly little attention to the drinking patterns of this specific age group. The prevalence of heavy alcohol use among young adults and its associated health related consequences has become a great public health concern in most Western countries [1]. Heavy drinking among young adults and its social and economic burden highlights an urgent need to develop alcohol prevention programs targeted at 18 to 24 year olds. Current alcohol prevention programs in the Netherlands pay surprisingly little attention to young adults’ drinking patterns. The study described in this protocol will test the effectiveness of a web-based brief alcohol intervention aimed at reducing alcohol use among heavy drinking college students aged 18 to 24 years old
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
