Dataset Information

Randomized trials of alcohol-use interventions with college students and their parents: lessons from the Transitions Project.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Matriculation from high school to college is typified by an increase in alcohol use and related harm for many students. Therefore, this transition period is an ideal time for preventive interventions to target alcohol use and related problems. PURPOSE:The purpose of this report is to describe the design and methods used in the Transitions Project, a randomized controlled trial of two interventions designed to prevent and reduce heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences among incoming college students. METHODS:This study used a 2?×?2 factorial design to investigate the effects of a two-session brief motivational intervention delivered to students and a handbook-based parent intervention. Interventions were administered to students and parents. Follow-up assessment took place at 10- and 22-months post-baseline. RESULTS:The Transitions Project successfully recruited and retained participants across a major transition period (i.e., entering college), administered and compared two distinct but complementary interventions, and collected and analyzed highly skewed data. The application of a factorial design and two-part latent growth curve modeling allowed us to examine main and interactive intervention effects in terms of both initiation and growth in heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems. LIMITATIONS:While we conducted successful tests of our primary and secondary study hypotheses over a lengthy follow-up period, our study design did not permit full interpretation of null findings. We suggest that researchers carefully consider assessment timing, tests of assessment reactivity, and ensure objective tests of intervention efficacy when conducting clinical trials of motivational interventions. CONCLUSIONS:The lessons we learned while conducting this trial have the potential to assist other researchers designing and conducting future preventive interventions targeting parents and college students. The data analytic procedures presented can also help guide trials that plan to analyze zero-inflated non-normal outcome data.

SUBMITTER: Fernandez AC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3143728 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Randomized trials of alcohol-use interventions with college students and their parents: lessons from the Transitions Project.

Fernandez A C AC Wood M D MD Laforge R R Black J T JT

Clinical trials (London, England) 20110126 2

<h4>Background</h4>Matriculation from high school to college is typified by an increase in alcohol use and related harm for many students. Therefore, this transition period is an ideal time for preventive interventions to target alcohol use and related problems.<h4>Purpose</h4>The purpose of this report is to describe the design and methods used in the Transitions Project, a randomized controlled trial of two interventions designed to prevent and reduce heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-relate ...[more]

PMID: 21270141

Similar Datasets

Project description:Risky alcohol consumption among college students is a significant public health issue. In the college setting, students can collaborate in the implementation of peer-led interventions. To date, evidence of peer-led programmes in reducing harmful alcohol consumption in this population is inconclusive. The aim of the current scoping review is to provide a broad overview by systematically examining and mapping the literature on peer-led interventions for preventing risky alcohol consumption by college students. The specific aims were to (1) identify the underlying focus of the interventions and assess their (2) effectiveness and (3) feasibility. A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, DART-Europe, RCAAP, Trove and ProQuest. The inclusion criteria were peer-led interventions that exclusively addressed alcohol consumption, college students as the target population and interventional studies (randomised controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses of interventions). The methodological quality of the articles was evaluated. From 6654 potential studies, 13 were included. Nine interventions were described within these studies: Voice of Reason programme, Brief Advice sessions, Peer Theatre, Alcohol Education programme, Perceptions of Alcohol Norms intervention, Motivational Intervention, Alcohol Skills Training programme, Lifestyle Management Class and the Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students. Only the last showed significant reductions in three of the four outcome measures: quantity and frequency of drinking, estimated peak blood alcohol concentration and alcohol-related consequences. It did not significantly decrease the number of heavy-drinking episodes. Peer interventions may be effective in preventing alcohol use among college students, although the evidence is weak and scarce. Further research is needed to strengthen the findings about peer-led interventions.

Dataset Information

Randomized trials of alcohol-use interventions with college students and their parents: lessons from the Transitions Project.

Publications

Randomized trials of alcohol-use interventions with college students and their parents: lessons from the Transitions Project.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets