This study will examine the efficacy of an internet-based brief intervention designed to reduce risky behavior veterans as the move into their second year post-Army. Up to 350 veterans drawn from The Network Study (Dept of Defense; Award number: W81XWH1920001) will be recruited with the intention of drawing a final sample of 300. Study participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention or the control group, stratified by age and gender.
The combination of alcohol use and negative emotional states is a particularly toxic combination for suicide risk. The current study examines changes in alcohol/drug use/misuse and depression as veterans transition further into their post-Army environment and offers a personalized internet-based brief intervention intended to prevent/reduce alcohol misuse and depression in this population. The study's objectives are to empirically quantify the form of changes that occur with respect to alcohol use and depression as veterans move into their second year post-Army; to identify stable individual risk factors (e.g., personality, military experiences) and dynamic risk factors (e.g., changes in stressors and normative contexts over time) that may be associated with differential temporal patterns of suicide-related behavior (i.e., alcohol use/misuse) and cognition (i.e., depression); and lastly, to determine whether a simple, internet-delivered brief intervention shown can reduce risky behavior in the veteran population.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
140
The intervention is an online module that can be accessed through smartphone, tablet, computer or other device. Participants will receive information about alcohol expectancies, alcohol use and norms, identity (service member, veteran, civilian), sleep, stress, and strategies for coping on the job.
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, United States
Change in Heavy Episodic Drinking
Single Alcohol Screening Question (SASQ) (Williams and Vinson, 2001)
Time frame: Through study completion, data collected quarterly from 15 to up to 24 months post-separation from the Army
Change in Modal alcohol consumption
Daily Drinking Questionnaire (DDQ) (Collins, Parks, \& Marlatt, 1985)
Time frame: Through study completion, data collected quarterly from 15 to up to 24 months post-separation from the Army
Change in Negative Emotional State -- Depression
The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9
Time frame: Through study completion, data collected quarterly from 15 to up to 24 months post-separation from the Army
Change in Alcohol-related problems
Short Rutgers Alcohol Problems Index (S-RAPI) (Earleywine, LaBrie \& Pedersen)
Time frame: Through study completion, data collected quarterly from 15 to up to 24 months post-separation from the Army
Change in Suicidal ideation
Suicide ideation measure developed by Nock, 2007
Time frame: Through study completion, data collected quarterly from 15 to up to 24 months post-separation from the Army
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