2 College Truths and 1 Lie (2T1L)

September 2, 2025 updated by: Dr. Joseph LaBrie, Loyola Marymount University

2 College Truths and 1 Lie: Social Media Embedded Gamified Normative Re-education

This pilot randomized control trial (RCT) aims to assess the feasibility and efficacy of 2 College Truths & 1 Lie (2T1L), a gamified social norms marketing campaign (SNMC) aimed at preventing and reducing first-year college student drinking. This program is designed to correct overestimations of peers' alcohol use behaviors, which, as shown in previous research, influence one's own future drinking behaviors. To examine the efficacy of 2T1L, this pilot trial will use a longitudinal design to determine whether playing 2T1L during the first few weeks of college will prevent increases in drinking or reduce subsequent alcohol use among first-year students during the same year, relative to exposure to a static social media-delivered SNMC or an assessment-only control condition. The investigators hypothesize that students randomized to receive the interactive 2T1L SNMC game will report less state psychological reactance in response to normative campus drinking statistics than students randomized to the non-gamified SNMC condition. Further, students in the 2T1L game condition will report greater accuracy in their perceptions of campus drinking norms and consume less alcohol following the six-week SNMC (short-term follow-up) and toward the end of the first year (long-term follow-up) compared to those randomized to both the active non-gamified SNMC and assessment-only control conditions.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

A pilot RCT will be conducted to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed gamified normative re-education campaign, 2 College Truths & 1 Lie (2T1L), which will be embedded on the most popular social media platforms associated with high-risk drinking during the first year of college. Incoming first-year students will be invited to participate in an online survey during the month prior to the start of the fall semester to determine baseline drinking norms and alcohol use. An automated randomizer will be programmed into the online survey to non-visibly assign participants to the intervention (n=138), active control (n=138), or assessment-only control (n=138) group. On the first day of the second week of classes, ads promoting participation in the gamified and static versions of 2T1L will begin to appear in the Instagram accounts of participants randomized to the intervention and active control conditions, respectively. These ads will continue to run over the course of the first six weeks, with a new ad promoting the current round of play every two weeks. Approximately one month following the conclusion of the final round of play, participants in all three conditions will be invited to complete the first follow-up survey (short-term intervention effects), which will include the same measures of drinking norms and alcohol use assessed at baseline. Six months post-intervention, participants will be invited to complete a second follow-up survey to assess the long-term effects of the intervention. At both the 1-month and 6-month follow-ups, the investigators expect that participants randomized to the intervention group will report greater accuracy in their perceptions of campus drinking norms and consume less alcohol relative to those randomized to both the active non-gamified SNMC and assessment-only control conditions.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
392

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90045
        • Loyola Marymount University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Incoming first-year student with valid LMU email address
  • 18-20 years of age
  • Checks their Instagram 1-3+ times per week
  • Consented to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not an incoming first year student attending LMU
  • Under 18 years of age or over 20 years of age
  • Do not have an Instagram account or checks it fewer than 1-3+ times per week
  • Did not consent to participate in the study

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Gamified Social Norms Marketing Campaign
Participants randomized to this arm will receive a gamified social norms marketing campaign that is primarily delivered via advertisements on the social media platform Instagram.
Behavioral: Gamified Social Norms Marketing Campaign
This intervention is a gamified social norms marketing campaign (SNMC) primarily disseminated via advertisements on Instagram. These advertisements will invite students to participate in a game about student life at their university, during which misperceived alcohol norms will be corrected. The gamified SNMC spans the first full six weeks of students' first fall semester in college and includes three rounds of play. Round one occurs during the first two weeks, round two during the third and fourth weeks, and round three during the fifth and sixth weeks. In the game, participants are asked to identify whether normative facts related to a variety of topics are true or false. Correct feedback is then provided, intended to reinforce accurate norms related to alcohol use, which are embedded alongside other facts about college life.
Experimental: Social Norms Marketing Campaign
Participants randomized to this arm will receive a social norms marketing campaign that is primarily delivered via advertisements on the social media platform Instagram.
Behavioral: Social Norms Marketing Campaign
This intervention is a social norms marketing campaign that is primarily delivered via advertisements on Instagram. These advertisements will contain normative facts related to student life at their university, during which misperceived alcohol norms will be corrected.
No Intervention: Assessment-Only Control
Participants do not receive anything besides the surveys.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from Baseline Daily Drinking at 4 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 4 months
Self-reported number of drinks consumed during an average week in the past 30 days.
baseline, 4 months
Change from Baseline Daily Drinking at 9 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 9 months
Self-reported number of drinks consumed during an average week in the past 30 days.
baseline, 9 months
Change from Peak Drinking Occasion at 4 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 4 months
Self-reported max number of drinks consumed on a single occasion in the past 30 days.
baseline, 4 months
Change from Baseline Peak Drinking Occasion at 9 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 9 months
Self-reported max number of drinks consumed on a single occasion in the past 30 days.
baseline, 9 months
Change from Baseline Descriptive Peer Drinking Norms- Drinking Norms Rating form at 4 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 4 months
Assesses perceptions of weekly alcohol consumption among peers over the past 30 days.
baseline, 4 months
Change from Baseline Descriptive Peer Drinking Norms- Drinking Norms Rating form at 9 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 9 months
Assesses perceptions of weekly alcohol consumption among peers over the past 30 days.
baseline, 9 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Loyola Marymount University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 5, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 15, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 15, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 23, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 26, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 28, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 9, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 2, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 5R34AA030139-02 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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