Letter-Writing Add-On to Brief Motivational Intervention for Alcohol Use

Enhancing Brief Motivational Interventions for Alcohol Use With Self-Determination Theory: A Pilot Letter-Writing Add-On

The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to learn whether adding a brief letter-writing exercise, grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), to a brief motivational intervention (BMI) for alcohol use is feasible and acceptable, and to obtain preliminary estimates of its effects on psychological needs and motivation among adults who drink heavily and sometimes think about or wish they could cut back on their drinking.

The main questions it aims to answer are: (1) Is it feasible to integrate the letter-writing task into an SDT-informed BMI (recruitment, session completion, letter completion, retention)? (2) Do participants rate the letter-writing task as acceptable, appropriate, and feasible? (3) Compared with a neutral writing task, is the letter-writing task associated with higher perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness, perceived competence for reducing drinking, and autonomous motivation?

Researchers will compare a BMI plus a neutral writing task with the same BMI plus the letter-writing task. Participants will complete a brief online screening survey; take part in a single 45-60-minute Zoom session that includes questionnaires, a 25-30-minute motivational interview, random assignment to either write an advice letter to another participant who has also thought about reducing their drinking or copy a neutral paragraph, and post-session questionnaires; and complete a 10-15-minute online follow-up survey about motivation, perceived competence, and alcohol use approximately one month later.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Alcohol Drinking; Heavy Drinking
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Brief Motivational Intervention; Behavioral: SDT-Informed Letter-Writing Task; Behavioral: Neutral Writing Task

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 86
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Mariam A Souweidane; Phone Number: 734-707-8185; Email: msouweidane@wayne.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Michigan
    • Detroit, Michigan, United States, 48202
      • Wayne State University
      • Contact: Mariam A Souweidane, M.A.; Phone Number: 734-707-8185; Email: msouweidane@wayne.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18 years or older
• Resides in the United States
• Meets the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism heavy-drinking criteria in the past month
• Answers Yes to "Do you sometimes think about reducing or wish you could reduce your alcohol use?"
• Has internet access and a device capable of video conferencing via Zoom

Exclusion Criteria:

• Failure to meet the inclusion criteria

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: BMI + Letter-Writing Condition	Behavioral: Brief Motivational Intervention; Participants will receive a brief, one-on-one, motivational intervention delivered via Zoom by a doctoral student in clinical psychology.; Behavioral: SDT-Informed Letter-Writing Task; Immediately after the brief motivational intervention, participants write a brief advice letter to another study participant who has also thought about reducing their drinking but sometimes struggles with motivation. Prompts target autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
Active Comparator: BMI + Neutral Writing Condition	Behavioral: Brief Motivational Intervention; Participants will receive a brief, one-on-one, motivational intervention delivered via Zoom by a doctoral student in clinical psychology.; Behavioral: Neutral Writing Task; Immediately after the brief motivational intervention, participants copy a technical paragraph on office supply inventory management that matches the letter-writing task in length and duration.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Recruitment Feasibility: Enrollment Rate Among Eligible Individuals Who Accept an Invitation	Percentage of eligible people who accept an invitation and then enroll (attend the Zoom session, consent, and begin the baseline survey).	From accepting the invitation to the Zoom session (up to 21 days)
Session Completion Rate	Percentage of enrolled participants who complete all parts of the Zoom session.	Day 1
Letter Completion Rate	Percentage of participants assigned to letter writing who complete a letter during the session.	Day 1
Acceptability of the Letter-Writing Task (Acceptability of Intervention Measure)	Mean of 4 Acceptability of Intervention Measure items, rated 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree); higher scores mean greater acceptability. Letter-writing participants only.	Day 1
Appropriateness of the Letter-Writing Task (Intervention Appropriateness Measure)	Mean of 4 Intervention Appropriateness Measure items, rated 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree); higher scores mean greater appropriateness. Letter-writing participants only.	Day 1
Feasibility of the Letter-Writing Task (Feasibility of Intervention Measure)	Mean of 4 Feasibility of Intervention Measure items, rated 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree); higher scores mean greater feasibility. Letter-writing participants only.	Day 1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Retention at One-Month Follow-Up	Proportion of randomized participants who complete the one-month follow-up survey within the 14-day response window (days 30-44 after the session), overall and by arm.	Days 30 to 44 after the Zoom session
State Autonomy for Drinking Decisions	Single item rated 1 (not at all) to 7 (completely); higher scores mean greater autonomy.	Start of the Zoom session (baseline), immediately post-intervention (Day 1), and 1 month after the Zoom session
State Competence for Reducing Drinking	Single item rated 1 (not capable at all) to 7 (extremely capable); higher scores mean greater competence.	Start of the Zoom session (baseline), immediately post-intervention (Day 1), and 1 month after the Zoom session
State Relatedness	Single item rated 1 (not at all connected) to 7 (extremely connected); higher scores mean greater relatedness.	Start of the Zoom session (baseline), immediately post-intervention (Day 1), and 1 month after the Zoom session
Perceived Competence for Reducing Alcohol Use (Perceived Competence Scale)	Mean of 4 items rated 1 (not at all true) to 7 (very true); higher scores mean greater perceived competence.	Start of the Zoom session (baseline), immediately post-intervention (Day 1), and 1 month after the Zoom session
Autonomous Motivation to Reduce Alcohol Use (Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire)	Autonomous motivation score (mean of items rated 1 to 7); higher scores mean more autonomous motivation.	Start of the Zoom session (baseline) and 1 month after the Zoom session

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Heavy Drinking Days (Timeline Followback)	Number of days in the past 30 with 5 or more (men) or 4 or more (women) standard drinks, measured with the Timeline Followback.	Start of the Zoom session (baseline) and 1 month after the Zoom session

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Wayne State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): November 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 31, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 4, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): November 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 9, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 4, 2026
• Last Verified: November 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Drinking Behavior; Behavior; Alcohol Drinking
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB-25-12-8326

Drug and device information, study documents

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