This is the third stage of a three-stage, NIH-funded study to develop and test a multi-modal intervention concerning blood/breath alcohol concentration for young adults who drink heavily. The multimodal intervention will be made up of brief telehealth counseling and psychoeducation and use of three existing mobile technologies. The brief counseling/psychoeducation and mobile technologies provide personalized feedback regarding blood or breath alcohol content. The long-term goal of use of these mobile technologies will be to facilitate moderate drinking. However, the main goals of the proposed research are to learn more about feasibility of our procedures, perceived value of the technologies and ease of use from the research participants' points of view. In this third stage of the study, the investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial building on the formative research conducted in Stages 1 and 2.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
90
Participants will be asked to use the mobile technologies as they choose while drinking for a four-week period.
Brief 25/30-minute motivational interview and psychoeducation on blood/breath alcohol concentration that includes both personalized and standardized information.
Study staff will review instructions for technology use closely with participants and guide them in use of existing phone technologies as reminders for use of the three moderate drinking technologies during drinking situations.
Participants will use an app developed during the study, SmartSip, that will provide protective behavioral strategies and reminders for use of the three moderate drinking technologies during drinking situations.
Brief 25/30-minute psychoeducation on generalized alcohol use providing information about alcohol and its effects, adapted from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Rethinking Drinking resources
Participants will be able to prompt text messages which will provide them one-off trivia facts using information provided during the attention control psychoeducation session
Northeastern University
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
RECRUITINGTechnology utilization
Percentage of reported drinking days on which one reports that moderate drinking technology use has occurred
Time frame: 4-week field use period
Acceptability
Score on acceptability subscale of Modified System Usability Scale
Time frame: 4-week field use period
Usability
Score on acceptability subscale of Modified System Usability Scale
Time frame: 4-week field use period
Drinks per drinking day
Number of drinks per day during field testing period
Time frame: 4-week field use period
Estimated blood alcohol content
Average estimated blood alcohol content reached on drinking days
Time frame: 4-week field use period
Negative Consequences
Score on the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire
Time frame: 4-week field use period
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