An examination of the feasibility of a brief personalized alcohol biomarker feedback intervention for high-risk college students

About This Grant

Abstract College students drink more often and in larger quantities, experience more consequences, and are more likely to receive a DSM diagnosis of an alcohol use disorder (AUD) compared to their non-college same-aged peers. Studies also show seniors in college drink more often, engage in more high-intensity drinking, and experience more consequences compared to earlier on in college, indicating drinking rates are not waning as students progress through college. These data suggest 1) students drink in a high-risk manner throughout college, and 2) to best combat the development of chronic drinking problems, efforts targeting high-risk drinking students across all years of college are warranted. Research has shown the benefits of personalized normative feedback for diverse samples to reduce drinking, but there remain unanswered questions about whether these are sufficient for reducing the development of chronic drinking problems and whether their efficacy can be strengthened by using personalized biomarker information. The proposed research will attempt to address these questions by examining the feasibility of adding an innovative brief personalized transdermal alcohol biomarker feedback component (TAC feedback) to an existing efficacious personalized feedback intervention, eCHECKUP TO GO (eCTG), for high-risk college students. Our study will deliver the eCTG + TAC feedback to high-risk drinkers of all class standings (freshman, sophomores, juniors, seniors) and compare their risky drinking, alcohol related consequences, and AUD symptoms at 6-month post-intervention relative to eCTG only as the active control. Our team has published research showing transdermal alcohol concentration (TAC) biomarkers (rise rates and peak intoxication) predict consequences independently, while adjusting for self- reported drinking. We recently pilot-tested the feasibility integrating TAC biomarkers into our intervention work on a small student sample (n= 11). The students wore the TAC sensors for two weeks, we extracted their TAC biomarker data, and met with them individually to deliver intervention sessions. The motivational interviewing- based personalized feedback sessions provided students with TAC information and visual representations for varying levels of risks using alcohol biomarker data collected from drinking events in the previous two weeks. Afterwards, we assessed students’ willingness to engage in behavioral strategies to modify their TAC biomarkers (i.e., rise rates and peak intoxication) in future drinking events and all indicated a willingness to do so. Although the sample was small, the pilot provides preliminary evidence to implement the TAC feedback, and warrant conducting the proposed research. Aim 1: will conduct a feasibility assessment for the TAC feedback component. Aim 2: will assess the effects of the eCTG + TAC at 6- months post-baseline relative to an eCTG alone. To the extent that the research is successful, it will provide data to warrant conducting a larger clinical efficacy trial in a future R01 study.