Mechanisms for Alcohol Treatment Change [MATCH] Study

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Alcohol Consumption

Interventions: Behavioral: Alcohol Risk Feedback (ARF)
Behavioral: Drinking Cognition Feedback (DCF)
Behavioral: Adaptive Goal Support (AGS)
Behavioral: COMBO

Registration Number: NCT02918565

Lead Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh

Brief Summary: A 5-arm randomized trial to determine what components of a text message intervention are necessary to reduce hazardous drinking among young adults and mechanisms through which these changes occur.

Detailed Description: Young adults ages 18-25 have high rates of hazardous alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences. The Emergency Department (ED) provides an important opportunity to identify young adult hazardous drinkers who could benefit from interventions. A Text Message (TM) intervention was shown to reduce alcohol consumption among young adult ED patients, showing durable effects over 9-months. The TM intervention uses behavior change techniques with the largest effect sizes in an alcohol intervention meta-analysis: "goal commitment" and "self-monitoring", along with real-time "feedback". However, the unique effect of these ingredients, and mechanisms (processes occurring within the individual) through which they operate to reduce drinking remain unclear, a critical gap addressed by this project. Young adult ED patients (ages 18-25) who screen positive for hazardous drinking will be recruited to participate in a randomized trial to determine how best to help individuals reduce hazardous drinking. All participants will be asked to complete web-based surveys at baseline, 12 and 24 weeks after enrollment, complete brief psychomotor tasks weekly for 14 weeks, and respond to text messages each Thursday and Sunday for the next 12 weeks. Those randomized to the TM interventions will additionally receive feedback on their text reports. The four TM intervention arms are: (1) Drinking Cognition Feedback (DCF), (2) Alcohol Risk Feedback (ARF), (3) Adaptive Goal Support (AGS) and (4) a combination of DCF, ARF, and AGS=COMBO). Study results have implications for designing efficient mobile interventions, and developing a dynamic theory of behavior change.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 1131

Inclusion Criteria

total score of >2 for women or >3 for men on the AUDIT-C
at least 1 binged drinking episode in the prior 30 days

Exclusion Criteria

no cell phone with text messaging
have been diagnosed with an alcohol or substance use disorder
pregnant or planning pregnancy
taking medicine for a psychiatric disorder (including depression, anxiety)
taking any medicine that could interact with alcohol

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Alcohol Risk Feedback (ARF)	Alcohol Risk Feedback (ARF)	12 weeks of interactive text messaging focused on providing feedback related only to post-weekend alcohol consumption (max drinks consumed on any occasion over the weekend).
Drinking Cognition Feedback (DCF)	Drinking Cognition Feedback (DCF)	12 weeks of interactive text messaging focused on providing feedback related only to pre-weekend drinking cognitions (plans, desire to get drunk).
Adaptive Goal Support (AGS)	Adaptive Goal Support (AGS)	10 weeks of interactive text messaging focused on providing adaptive goal support (based on running average of max drinks consumed).
COMBO	COMBO	12 weeks of interactive text messaging incorporating features of DCF, ARF and AGS.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Number of Binge Drinking Days	12 weeks after starting intervention	Measured by the # days on the Timeline Followback Calendar that a male reported 5+ drinks or a female reported 4+ drinks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire Score	12 weeks after starting intervention	Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (B-YAACQ). The B-YAACQ is a 24-item measure of alcohol- related problems that utilizes a dichotomous (present or absent) scoring format. Sum of items 1-48. Higher scores (count of items marked as 'present') on the B-YAACQ not only indicate a wider variety but also reflect a more severe pattern of alcohol-related problems.
Count of Participants With Any Binge Drinking Day	12 weeks after starting intervention	Using the Timeline Followback Calendar, any male participant reported one or more days with 5+ drinks or a female with one or more days with 4+ drinks are coded=1; otherwise participant is coded=0
Drinks Per Drinking Day	12 weeks after starting intervention	drinks per drinking day = mean drinks divided by the number of days with any alcohol consumption using the 30-day TLFB Calendar.