The Use of Telephone-based ACT for Quitting Alcohol in the Young Population With Hazardous or Harmful Alcohol Use.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Telephone-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Assist Young Adults With Hazardous or Harmful Alcohol Use to Quit Drinking

Objectives: To investigate the effectiveness of a telephone-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in assisting young adult drinkers with hazardous or harmful alcohol use (HH drinkers) to quit drinking.

Hypothesis to be tested:

Primary hypothesis: 1) those who receive telephone-based ACT will report a significantly higher biochemical validated abstinence than the control groups.

Secondary hypotheses are that compared with the control groups, those who receive telephone-based ACT will show: 2) significantly higher self-reported 30-day abstinence, 3) significantly greater reduction in drinking, and 4) significantly higher psychological flexibility.

Design and subjects: A Hong Kong randomized controlled trial with 2-arm waitlist controlled trial design on 288 individuals (aged 18-35 years, able to read Chinese and speak Cantonese, and with AUDIT scores≥8).

Study instruments: Biochemical-validated abstinence (Urine strips), timeline Follow-Back questionnaire, self-reported 30-day abstinence and Personalized Psychological Flexibility Index, Short-Form 6 Dimensions and semi-structured interviews.

Interventions:

The intervention group(n=144) will receive 6-weekly telephone-based ACT. The waitlist control group (n=144) will receive 6-weekly telephone-based social support intervention.

Main outcome measures: Primary outcome is biochemical-validated abstinence at the 6-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes include self-reported 30-day abstinence alcohol reduction, and psychological flexibility at baseline, post-program, 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-ups.

Data analysis: Descriptive statistics, generalized estimating equations, multiple imputation, intention-to-treat, per protocol analyses, and cost-effectiveness analysis.

Expected results: The telephone-based ACT is effective in assisting HH drinkers to quit drinking.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Alcohol Abstinence
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Telephone-based ACT; Behavioral: Telephone-based social support

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 288
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Ka Wai Katherine LAM, Doctor of Philosophy; Phone Number: +852 27666420; Email: kw-katherine.lam@polyu.edu.hk

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• (1)aged 18-35 years,37-38
• (2)able to read Chinese and speak Cantonese
• (3)have AUDIT scores≥8.

Exclusion Criteria:

• (1) those who have a serious mental illness (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale7 with a score of ≥13)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Telephone-based ACT; Telephone-based ACT for alcohol abstinence	Behavioral: Telephone-based ACT; Each participant will join a six-session weekly telephone-based ACT programme conducted by the interventionists. Each session will last approximately 45-60 minutes.
Placebo Comparator: Waitlist control; Telephone-based social support	Behavioral: Telephone-based social support; Participants will receive weekly 45-minute telephone-based social support from an interventionist(not involved in the intervention group) for 6 weeks, which mimics the time and attention received by those in the intervention group.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
biochemically-validated abstinence	The urine strips will be used for testing the content of ethyl glucuronide(a by-product of alcohol). Participants who self-report quitting drinking within the past 30 days at the 6-month follow-up will be invited to do the test.	at the 6-month follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
self-reported 30-day alcohol abstinence		at post-programme(T1) and at the 1-month(T2), 3-month(T3) and 6-month(T4) follow-ups
self-reported 30-day reduction in alcohol consumption	reduction in alcohol consumption refer to: 50% or more reduction in average alcohol consumption per day when compared with baseline at T0	at post-programme(T1) and at the 1-month(T2), 3-month(T3) and 6-month(T4) follow-ups
psychological flexibility	Personalised Psychological Flexibility Index(PPFI) will be used to measure psychological flexibility by 19 items rating on a 7-point scale. Higher scores represent greater psychological flexibility. It has been validated among Chinese college students.	at post-programme(T1) and at the 1-month(T2), 3-month(T3) and 6-month(T4) follow-ups

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2029
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 12, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 27, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 4, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 4, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 27, 2026
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; young adults; alcohol abstinence; Telephone-based
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Drinking Behavior; Behavior; Alcohol Abstinence
• Other Study ID Numbers: telephone-based ACT

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No