Greek Connections Study

September 18, 2026 updated by: Elizabeth Lehinger, University of Washington

Increasing Availability of and Engagement in Alcohol-Free Social Activities to Address Heavy Episodic Drinking and Alcohol Consequences Among Fraternity and Sorority College Students

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of an intervention aiming to reduce heavy episodic drinking and negative consequences from alcohol by increasing the availability of and engagement in alcohol-free social activities for college students who are affiliated with a fraternity or sorority organization.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The negative impact of heavy episodic drinking (HED) among college students continues to be a major public health issue, and students who are members of fraternities and sororities (Greek members) are at particularly greater risk for experiencing negative alcohol consequences due to frequent HED. This study integrates developmental and behavioral economic models of alcohol use to test an environmental approach to reducing alcohol-related harm among Greek members. Within the Greek community, chapters will plan and offer alcohol-free social activities for their chapter members to attend, providing alternatives to drinking events for building social connections. To increase usability and contextual fit, the program of alcohol-free social activities was developed and refined in collaboration with Greek members. The pilot trial is focused on evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention but will also evaluate changes in heavy episodic drinking and alcohol consequences using a pre-post design, with data collected across two consecutive academic years. Members of participating chapters will provide baseline data during Year 1 and receive the intervention during Year 2.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

480

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 Contact

  • Name: Elizabeth Lehinger, PhD
  • Phone Number: 206-685-2638
  • Email: bethl4@uw.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Washington
      • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98105
        • Recruiting
        • University of Washington School of Medicine
        • Contact:
          • Elizabeth Lehinger, PhD
          • Phone Number: 206-685-2638
          • Email: bethl4@uw.edu
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Elizabeth Lehinger, PhD

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

18 years to 29 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Active membership in a sorority or fraternity organization at the University of Washington
  • Age 18-29 years

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None beyond failure to meet the inclusion criteria.

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Alcohol-Free Social Activities Program
Behavioral: Alcohol-free Social Activities Program

The Alcohol-Free Social Activities Program is a chapter-level behavioral intervention designed to increase the availability of and participation in rewarding social activities that do not involve alcohol among fraternity and sorority members. Participating chapters will receive a program toolkit containing guidance and procedures for planning and implementing alcohol-free social activities. Chapter leaders will select, plan, and implement activities for their members during the intervention period. The program is designed to increase opportunities for rewarding alcohol-free social experiences and strengthen social connection among chapter members.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Intervention Feasibility: Recruitment
Time Frame: From initiation of chapter recruitment through the end of Year 1 enrollment, approximately 18 months.

Number of chapters who agree to participate in the intervention
From initiation of chapter recruitment through the end of Year 1 enrollment, approximately 18 months.
Intervention Feasibility: Retention
Time Frame: From chapter enrollment through completion of the intervention period, approximately 14 months

The proportion of participating chapters that remain actively involved in the program through completion of the intervention period.
From chapter enrollment through completion of the intervention period, approximately 14 months
Intervention Feasibility: Engagement
Time Frame: The intervention delivery period (approximately 4 weeks) during year 2

Number of Greek members who attend the social activities
The intervention delivery period (approximately 4 weeks) during year 2
Weiner's Acceptability measure
Time Frame: Post-intervention during Year 2

Measure of acceptability of the intervention
Post-intervention during Year 2
Weiner's Intervention Appropriateness measure
Time Frame: Post-intervention during Year 2

Measure of appropriateness of the intervention
Post-intervention during Year 2
Weiner's Feasibility measure
Time Frame: Post-intervention during Year 2

Measure of feasibility of the intervention
Post-intervention during Year 2
Intervention Feasibility: Enjoyment Ratings
Time Frame: During the intervention period in Year 2

Ratings of enjoyment from Greek members who attend an alcohol-free social activity
During the intervention period in Year 2

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Heavy episodic drinking episodes
Time Frame: Assessment periods over two months of Year 1 and Year 2

Number of heavy episodic drinking episodes derived from the Daily Drinking Questionnaire
Assessment periods over two months of Year 1 and Year 2
Alcohol consequences
Time Frame: Assessment periods over two months of Year 1 and Year 2

Sum scores on the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (BYAACQ) which assesses alcohol use consequences. Higher scores indicate worse outcome.
Assessment periods over two months of Year 1 and Year 2
Intervention Feasibility: Practicality
Time Frame: The intervention delivery period (approximately 4 weeks) during year 2

Time spent planning and facilitating alcohol-free social activities by chapters
The intervention delivery period (approximately 4 weeks) during year 2

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Washington

Collaborators

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Lehinger, PhD, University of Washington

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 (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 18, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 18, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 24, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 24, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 18, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STUDY00020990
  • K23AA032019 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

This study will submit and share data with NIAAA Data Archive (NIAAADA), a data repository housed within the NIMH Data Archive (NDA). De-identified individual participant data underlying the results reported from this study will be made available to qualified researchers for secondary research purposes, consistent with participant consent, applicable institutional requirements, and the study's NIH-approved Data Management and Sharing Plan. Data will be de-identified prior to sharing. Data will be made available through NIAAADA and/or a controlled-access process. Researchers requesting access may be required to submit a research proposal and enter into a data use agreement that prohibits attempts to identify participants or participating organizations.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Beginning 1 year after publication of the main outcomes with no end date.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Qualified researchers

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL

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.

Subscribe