Cross-Tailoring Integrative Alcohol and Risky Sex Feedback for College Students: A Hybrid Type 1 Effectiveness-Implementation Trial
Anne E Ray
Summary
Alcohol misuse and related risky sexual behaviors are significant health concerns for college students. Two-thirds of students are current drinkers, at least 1 in 3 report past month heavy episodic drinking (5+ drinks in a row), and 1 in 10 report high intensity drinking (10+ drinks in a row). Increased student alcohol use and heavy drinking are linked to increased sexual activity and related risky behaviors (e.g., unprotected sex, sex with casual partners). This puts students at risk for negative health outcomes (e.g., STIs - sexually transmitted infections) and is also a pathway to sexual victimization and escalated drinking. The first few weeks of college, known as the 'red zone,' provide an opportunity to intervene at time when these behaviors increase. However, most prevention programs for college students tend to focus on student alcohol use and have little to no integration of content on the relationship between alcohol use and risky sexual behaviors. This is an important gap in the literature and a priority area for NIAAA. The research team established the short-term efficacy of a personalized feedback intervention (PFI), a gold standard intervention approach, with integrated content on alcohol and risky sexual behaviors. In this study, we propose to extend our integrated PFI to include a cross-tailored dynamic feedback (CDF) component. The CDF component will use technology to incorporate daily assessments of student behavior and provide students with dynamic weekly feedback over 12 weeks. The goal is to increase the effectiveness of the integrated PFI and to create a program that is easily implemented on college campuses.
Description
The project utilizes a multisite, hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation study design to (1) evaluate the impact of CDF for first-year college students and (2) identify implementation factors critical to its success to facilitate future scale-up in campus settings. The first aim is to conduct a multi-level stakeholder-engaged adaptation of the integrated alcohol and risky sex PFI through the development and inclusion of CDF. The second aim is to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the enhanced intervention (PFI+CDF) in a sample of 600 first-year college students. The primary hyp…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–20 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * status as first-year college student at University of Kentucky or UNT-Denton * 18-20 years old Exclusion Criteria: * the inability or unwillingness to give informed, voluntary consent to participate * not meeting inclusion criteria * currently in treatment to reduce alcohol or other substance use * pregnant or planning to become pregnant
Interventions
- BehavioralCross-tailored Dynamic Feedback
Dynamic, technology-delivered weekly feedback on weekend diary self-reports of first-year college student behavior related to alcohol use and related sexual behaviors.
- BehavioralPersonalized Feedback Intervention
Technology-delivered personalized feedback on first-year college student behavior related to alcohol use and related sexual behaviors.
- BehavioralDynamic Feedback on General Health Behaviors
Dynamic, technology-delivered weekly feedback on weekend diary self-reports of first-year college student behavior related to general health behaviors.
Locations (2)
- University of KentuckyLexington, Kentucky
- University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort WorthFort Worth, Texas