Episodic Future Thinking as a Brief Alcohol Intervention for Heavy Drinking College Students: A Pilot Feasibility Study

The present study investigated the feasibility, acceptability, and initial utility of a brief academic goal-relevant episodic future thinking (A-EFT) task among heavy college drinkers.

First, the study attempts to extend the temporal reach of EFT interventions which have demonstrated immediate reductions in discounting, and alcohol demand. The current study utilized a longitudinal design to evaluate whether EFT can change drinking behavior outside the lab in heavy drinking college students. The two-group experimental design included an active control group, weekly booster contact, and 1-month follow-up. Second, this study seeks to investigate whether the process of engaging in EFT is sufficient to produce effects when cues are not presented during the decision-making task. Lastly, this study adds an academic goal-related focus to the EFT task based on previous research indicating that forming meaningful academic goals is protective against drinking and associated problems.