Insomnia Treatment and Problems (the iTAP Study)

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Insomnia
Alcohol; Harmful Use

Interventions: Behavioral: Sleep Hygiene
Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)

Registration Number: NCT03627832

Lead Sponsor: University of Missouri-Columbia

Brief Summary: This project aims to evaluate the efficacy of insomnia treatment in improving insomnia symptoms and alcohol-related problems among heavy-drinking young adults.

Detailed Description: Heavy alcohol use is prevalent among young adults and results in significant physical and psychological burden. Despite wide implementation of alcohol risk reduction efforts on college campuses, rates of heavy alcohol consumption remain high, with 35% of students reporting consumption of 5+ drinks on the same occasion in the past 2 weeks. Thus, additional strategies are needed to reduce the burden of heavy alcohol use among college students. More than half of heavy-drinking college students report symptoms of insomnia. In turn, insomnia symptoms have been associated with increased risk of alcohol-related problems. The proposed project aims to reduce the burden of heavy alcohol use on college campuses by examining the efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) in reducing alcohol use and related problems among heavy-drinking college students. Twenty seven young adults who indicate risk for problem drinking and meet DSM-5 criteria for Insomnia Disorder will participate in a 5-week pilot trial. Participants will complete five individual sessions of CBT-I. Outcomes will be assessed at the end of the active intervention period (6 weeks) and 1 month post-intervention. Outcomes of interest include insomnia severity, total wake time, sleep quality, drinking quantity, and alcohol-related consequences. The proposed research aims to reduce the harms associated with heavy alcohol use among young adults by improving the availability of efficacious treatment. It will impact understanding of the benefits of CBT-I, and it is innovative because it evaluates improvement in insomnia as a mechanism for improvements in alcohol use disorder (AUD). This research is consistent with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's initiative to evaluate and promote interventions that prevent the progression of AUD in diverse populations. It will enhance the stature of the university by improving our ability to compete successfully for federal funding to conduct high-quality research.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 56

Inclusion Criteria

Age 18-30 years
Heavy episodic drinking, defined as 1 heavy drinking episode (4/5+ drinks for women/men) in the past 30 days on the Timeline Followback
DSM-5 criteria for insomnia, with "daytime impairment" operationalized as ISI scores =>10

Exclusion Criteria

Unable to provide informed consent
New sleep medication in the past 6 weeks
Contraindications for CBT-I (mania or seizure disorder)
Severe psychiatric disorder that requires clinical attention (PTSD, major depression)
Current treatment for insomnia or alcohol use

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Sleep Hygiene	Sleep Hygiene	Sleep hygiene handout delivered once to all participants
CBT-I	Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)	Individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) delivered once a week for 6 weeks
CBT-I	Sleep Hygiene	Individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) delivered once a week for 6 weeks

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Sleep Quality	Change from baseline to post-treatment (week 8) to 1 month follow-up (week 12)	Assessed using a single question on the daily sleep diary. Sleep quality score ranges from 0-4, where 0=very poor sleep quality and 4=very good sleep quality.
Insomnia Severity	Change from baseline to post-treatment (week 8) to 1 month follow-up (week 12)	Assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index. Scores range from 0 to 28, with higher scores indicating higher insomnia severity.
Sleep Efficiency	Change from baseline to post-treatment (week 8) to 1 month follow-up (week 12)	Assessed using daily sleep diaries and actigraphy -- sleep efficiency is the proportion of time spent in bed (from lights out until out of bed in the morning) that is actually spent sleeping (subtracting how long it took to fall asleep and how much time was spent awake in the middle of the night).
Drinking Quantity	Change from baseline to post-treatment (week 8) to 1 month follow-up (week 12)	Assessed using the Daily Drinking Questionnaire. Participants estimate how many alcoholic drinks they typically consume on each day of the week, averaged over the past 3 months.Responses for drinking quantity range from 0 to infinity, where higher numbers indicate more standard drinks consumed per day. Reports from each day are summed to create a "Drinks Per Week" score. Participants also report the amount of time they typically spend drinking during each day of the week. Responses range from 0-24 hours per day, where higher numbers indicate more hours drinking.
Alcohol-related Consequences	Change from baseline to post-treatment (week 8) to 1 month follow-up (week 12)	Assessed using the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire. Scores range from 0-24, with higher scores indicating more alcohol-related consequences.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Delay Discounting	Change from baseline to post-treatment (week 8) to 1 month follow-up (week 12)	Assessed using the Monetary Choice Questionnaire. Responses will be used to calculate discount rate (k), consistency of the discount rate (the inferred k), and the proportion of immediate reward choices (immediate choice ratios).
Alcohol Craving	Change from baseline to post-treatment (week 8) to 1 month follow-up (week 12)	Assessed using the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale. Scores range from 0-30, with higher scores indicating greater alcohol craving.
Negative Affect	Change from baseline to post-treatment (week 8) to 1 month follow-up (week 12)	Assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. Participants respond to words that describe negative feelings/emotions and report the extent (1-5) that they feel each emotion presently or during the past week. Higher scores indicate higher negative affect.
Emotion Regulation	Change from baseline to post-treatment (week 8) to 1 month follow-up (week 12)	Assessed using the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale. Scores range from 36-180, with higher scores indicating more difficulty with emotion regulation.