Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Pedersen, Eric R.
• Hummer, Justin F.
• Davis, Jordan P.
• Fitzke, Reagan E.
• Tran, Denise D.
• Witkiewitz, Katie
• Clapp, John D.

Titel

A Mobile-Based Pregaming Drinking Prevention Intervention for College Students: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Ist Teil von

• Psychology of addictive behaviors, 2023-11, Vol.37 (7), p.841-852

Ort / Verlag

United States: American Psychological Association

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Objective: Pregaming is among the riskiest drinking behaviors in which college students engage, often leading to elevated blood alcohol levels and negative alcohol-related consequences. Yet, tailored interventions to reduce risk associated with pregaming are lacking. The present study was designed to develop and evaluate the efficacy of a brief, mobile-based intervention targeting heavy drinking during pregaming among college students, called Pregaming Awareness in College Environments (PACE). Method: PACE was developed using two innovations to facilitate behavior change: (a) a mobile-based application to increase intervention accessibility and (b) personalized pregaming-specific intervention content delivered using a harm reduction approach with cognitive behavioral skills training. After development and β-testing, we employed a randomized clinical trial with 485 college students who reported pregaming at least once per week in the past month (Mage = 19.98; 52.2% from minoritized racial and/or ethnic groups; 65.6% female). Participants were randomly assigned to PACE (n = 242) or a control condition website (n = 243), which consisted of general information about the effects of alcohol. Analysis assessed intervention effects on pregaming drinking, global drinking, and alcohol-related consequences at 6 and 14 weeks postintervention. Results: Although participants in both conditions reduced drinking, small and significant intervention effects favoring PACE were found at 6-week follow-up for overall drinking days, pregaming days, and alcohol-related consequences. Conclusions: Findings suggest the brief mobile PACE intervention has potential to address risky drinking, but more intensive pregaming-focused efforts may be necessary to achieve stronger and lasting effects among college students. Public Health Significance Statement Heavy drinking by college students cuts across multiple contexts, but one particularly risky one is pregaming, where large amounts of alcohol are consumed quickly often to get intoxicated prior to leaving for an intended destination, such as a bar, party, concert, sporting event, or date. Few interventions have attempted to directly address this ubiquitous behavior, which often leads to consequences for students both on the night of pregaming and in the long term. Changing pregaming drinking may help reduce drinking and lead to broader changes in drinking practices and reductions in alcohol-related harm for college students and other young adult groups.