Social Media Alcohol Intervention

July 3, 2024 updated by: Maureen A Walton, University of Michigan

Social Media Interventions to Reduce Alcohol Use Among Youth

Social media provides frequent interaction with online social networks, increasing exposure to peer influences, which could affect alcohol use in negative or positive ways. The proposed study will recruit adolescents and emerging adults using social media ads, and conduct online screening, enrolling 975 risky drinkers in a randomized controlled trial comparing three conditions: 8-week Social Media Intervention + Incentives, 8-week Social Media Intervention Only, and an e-news attention control condition. These innovative design features will provide the critical next step in harnessing social media to reduce alcohol misuse, which could have enormous public health impact by altering the alcohol use trajectories of youth.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The proposed study will recruit adolescents and emerging adults (ages 16-24) using social media ads and conduct online screening, enrolling 975 risky drinkers (i.e., using AUDIT-C screener) in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing three conditions: 1) Social Media Intervention + Incentives (n=325), 2) Social Media Intervention Only (n=325), and 3) Attention Control E-News condition (n=325), with post baseline follow-up assessments at 3, 6, and 12 months. Interventions will include access for 8 weeks to unique, secret group pages facilitated by e-coaches (supervised by therapists), with dynamic content emphasizing reducing alcohol use/misuse as well as concomitant risk behaviors (other drug use based on co-ingestion and common motives for use).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

955

Phase

  • 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
    • Michigan
      • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109
        • University of Michigan

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

Ages Eligible for Study

16 years to 24 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Individuals will be eligible to participate if they are between the ages of 16 and 24 years and they have a Facebook account. Additionally, individuals will be eligible if they:

  • Have a Past 3-month AUDIT-C score (see below) indicating that they meet criteria for at-risk drinking/alcohol misuse.

    • ages 16-17: ≥3 females and ≥4 males
    • ages 18-24: ≥4 females and ≥5 males

Exclusion Criteria:

  • do not live in an area that the study is currently seeking participants from (i.e.- zip code not in area of active recruitment).
  • under 16 years of age or over 24 years of age
  • not Facebook account holder
  • inability to give informed, voluntary consent

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: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: SMI + Incentives
A Social Media + Incentives (SMI + I) condition
Behavioral: SMI + I
This 8-week social media based intervention consists of e-coaches delivering positive content to facilitate peer interaction. Participants will earn incentives for interaction during the intervention (8 weeks).
Other Names:
  • Social Media Intervention + Incentives
Active Comparator: SMI
A Social Media Intervention (SMI) condition
Behavioral: SMI
This 8-week social media based intervention consists of e-coaches delivering positive content to facilitate peer interaction. This group will NOT receive incentives for their participation in the secret group.
Other Names:
  • Social Media Intervention
No Intervention: Control
An Attention-Control E-News (CONTROL) condition

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Alcohol Consumption
Time Frame: 3-, 6-, and 12- months post baseline
30-day Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB) will be used to assess alcohol consumption, binge drinking, quantity, and frequency of use.
3-, 6-, and 12- months post baseline
Change in Alcohol Related Consequences
Time Frame: 3-, 6-, and 12- months post baseline
Alcohol related consequences will be measured using the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ).
3-, 6-, and 12- months post baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Michigan

Collaborators

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Maureen A Walton, MPH, PhD, University of Michigan

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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)

January 1, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 25, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

June 25, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 8, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 17, 2016

First Posted (Estimated)

June 22, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 5, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 3, 2024

Last Verified

July 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • AA024175
  • R01AA024175 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

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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