Digitally Prompted Parenting: A Text Message Parent-Based Alcohol Intervention for Incoming College Students

April 15, 2026 updated by: Dr. Joseph LaBrie, Loyola Marymount University
This pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) will evaluate both the feasibility and efficacy of Digitally Prompted Parenting (DPP), a text-message based parent intervention (tm-PBI) designed to prevent and reduce alcohol use among first-year college students. In this study, parents of incoming first-year students will receive risk-reducing text messages during the first 10 weeks of the Fall semester, which they can forward to their students. The trial uses a longitudinal design to compare drinking outcomes between students whose parents receive the DPP messages and those whose parents receive an established alcohol PBI (the active control condition). The investigators hypothesize that students in the DPP group will report lower levels of alcohol use and fewer alcohol-related consequences after the intervention compared to those in the active control group.

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.

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.
276

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Joseph LaBrie, Ph.D.
  • Phone Number: 3103385238
  • Email: jlabrie@lmu.edu

Study Locations

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

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

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Student is 17-20 years of age
  • Student is an LMU incoming first-year college student
  • Student has access to a cellular device capable of receiving text messages
  • Student's parent or legal guardian has an email address on file at LMU
  • Student's parent or legal guardian has a cellular device capable of receiving text messages
  • Student's parent or legal guardian received an invitation from the research team to participate
  • Student's parent or legal guardian signed up to access the assigned intervention
  • Student's parent or legal guardian is a resident of the United States
  • Informed consent (or assent, as applicable) is provided

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Student is not 17-20 years of age
  • Student is not an LMU incoming first-year college student
  • Student does not have access to a cellular device capable of receiving text messages
  • Student's parent or legal guardian does not have an email address on file at LMU
  • Student's parent or legal guardian does not have a cellular device capable of receiving text messages
  • Student's parent or legal guardian did not receive an invitation from the research team to participate
  • Student's parent or legal guardian did not sign up to access the assigned intervention
  • Student's parent or legal guardian is not a resident of the United States
  • Informed consent (or assent, as applicable) is not provided

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: Digitally Prompted Parenting
Parents of participating first-year college students in this intervention arm will receive a series of prewritten text messages during the first 10 weeks of college. Parents can personalize these messages before sending them directly to their student, who is the study participant, with the goal of reducing alcohol-related risks.
Behavioral: Digitally Prompted Parenting
Parents will receive an email invitation to sign up for Digitally Prompted Parenting, a text message-delivered PBI. Parents set up an account and input information about themselves and their student, which will customize the text messages they receive. Parents will receive at least two text prompts per week for the first 10 weeks of their student's first semester in college. These texts will (1) prompt parents to call their student to discuss the past week and week ahead, and (2) prompt parents to send an alcohol-specific risk reducing text to their student.
Active Comparator: Active Control
Parents of participating first-year college students in this arm of the study will receive access to the Parent Handbook during the summer before matriculation and three booster emails that summarize its key points after matriculation.
Behavioral: Active Control
Parents will receive an email that explains the Parent Handbook intervention and includes a link to a website where the Handbook is embedded. They will also receive three booster emails summarizing the key points of the intervention. Parents can review both the Parent Handbook and the booster emails at their own pace.

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 in Daily Drinking between Baseline and 3 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 3 months
Self-reported number of drinks consumed during an average week in the past 30 days.
baseline, 3 months
Change in Daily Drinking between Baseline and 6 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 6 months
Self-reported number of drinks consumed during an average week in the past 30 days.
baseline, 6 months
Change in Peak Drinking Occasion between Baseline and 3 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 3 months
Self-reported max number of drinks consumed on a single occasion in the past 30 days.
baseline, 3 months
Change in Peak Drinking Occasion between Baseline and 6 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 6 months
Self-reported max number of drinks consumed on a single occasion in the past 30 days.
baseline, 6 months
Change in Heavy Episodic Drinking Occasion between Baseline and 3 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 3 months
Self-reported number of times 4/5 drinks (female/male) were consumed in a 2-hour period in the past 30 days.
baseline, 3 months
Change in Heavy Episodic Drinking Occasion between Baseline and 6 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 6 months
Self-reported number of times 4/5 drinks (female/male) were consumed in a 2-hour period in the past 30 days.
baseline, 6 months
Change in Frequency of Intoxication Events between Baseline and 3 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 3 months
Self-reported number of times individuals reported drinking to intoxication in the past 30 days.
baseline, 3 months
Change in Frequency of Intoxication Events between Baseline and 6 Months
Time Frame: baseline, 6 months
Self-reported number of times individuals reported drinking to intoxication in the past 30 days.
baseline, 6 months
Change in Number of Alcohol-Related Consequences between Baseline and 3 Month
Time Frame: baseline, 3 months
Self-reported number of alcohol-related consequences in the past 30 days.
baseline, 3 months
Change in Number of Alcohol-Related Consequences between Baseline and 6 Month
Time Frame: baseline, 6 months
Self-reported number of alcohol-related consequences in the past 30 days.
baseline, 6 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.
June 27, 2025

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.
March 16, 2026

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.
March 16, 2026

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).
March 1, 2025

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.
March 1, 2025

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.
March 6, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

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.
April 16, 2026

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.
April 15, 2026

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.
July 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.
  • 1R34AA031358-01A1 (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

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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