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NCT Number: NCT07156305

College Student Alcohol Behaviors and Strategies

The primary goal of this clinical trial is to examine whether the use of personalized goal setting related to protective behavioral strategies (PBS)-behavioral techniques enacted before, during, or after alcohol consumption to reduce risk and minimize harm-increases the use of personally selected PBS implementation. A secondary goal of this trial is to examine whether increasing the frequency of PBS use will lead to decreases in alcohol consumption, fewer alcohol-related negative consequences, and increased alcohol-related positive consequences. Researchers will compare a control condition, a PBS-only condition, and a PBS+Goals condition to address the aims of the study. Participants in all conditions will complete measures about current PBS use, alcohol use and consequences, and likelihood and confidence to change current alcohol and strategy use. All participants will receive brief psychoeducation on PBS. Participants in the PBS-only and PBS+Goals condition will select three PBS to use over the following two weeks, and select a strategy for remembering the PBS they chose. Participants in the PBS+Goals condition will receive psychoeducation about goal setting and identify two goals related to each PBS strategy they selected. Participants in all conditions will complete a follow-up after two weeks containing measures about PBS use, alcohol use and consequences, and likelihood and confidence to change alcohol and strategy use. Participants in the PBS-only and PBS+Goals condition will complete a measure to indicate whether they used the reminder strategy they selected at the two-week follow-up. Participants in the PBS+Goals condition will complete a measure indicating whether they believe they achieved their goals at the two-week follow-up.

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Key information

Conditions

Alcohol Use Alcohol Drinking Behavior Drinking Behavior

Age range

18 year–25 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Wyoming

Laramie, Wyoming, 82072, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Alison Looby, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

Alison Looby, PhD

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Anna M Petrey, BS

CONTACT

[email protected]

307-314-2111

Anna M Petrey, BS

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Must report being between the ages of 18-25
  • Must report engaging in alcohol use at least one time per week over the past two weeks, on average

Exclusion criteria

  • Reports currently receiving or having received treatment for their alcohol or other substance use during the past two months
  • Age below 18 or above 25 years
  • Does not report having engaged in alcohol use at least one time per week over the past two weeks, on average

Treatment and study plan

Protective Behavioral Strategies

Behavioral

Participants receive psychoeducation about protective behavioral strategies and are asked to choose three strategies that they do not already engage in regularly but would be willing to start using more.

Goal-Setting

Behavioral

Participants receive psychoeducation about protective behavioral strategies and goal-setting. They are asked to choose three strategies that they do not already engage in regularly and identify two goals related to each strategy.

Primary outcomes

  1. Protective Behavioral Strategy Use

    Time frame: Baseline and two-week follow-up.

    Participants will be asked at baseline and follow-up to indicate the frequency they use the various PBS included in the Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale - 20 (PBSS-20) across the past two weeks. Change will be examined across groups as the mean change in past-two-week frequency of PBS use at follow-up relative to baseline.

  2. Alcohol Use

    Time frame: Baseline and two-week follow-up

    Participants will be asked to complete the Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB), a measure of past-two-week alcohol use, at baseline and follow-up. Change will be examined across groups as mean change in past-two-week alcohol use at at follow-up relative to baseline.

  3. Negative Alcohol-Related Consequences

    Time frame: Baseline and two-week follow-up

    Participants will be asked to report on the total number of negative alcohol-related consequences they have experienced in the past two weeks using the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (B-YAACQ). Change will be examined across group as the mean change in number of negative alcohol-related consequences experienced across the past two weeks at follow-up relative to baseline.

  4. Positive Alcohol-Related Consequences

    Time frame: Baseline and two-week follow-up

    Participants will be asked to report on the number of positive alcohol-related consequences they have experienced across the past two weeks at baseline and follow-up using the Positive Drinking Consequences Questionnaire (PDCQ). Change across groups will be examined as the mean change in number of positive alcohol-related consequences at follow-up relative to baseline.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Likelihood to Change

    Time frame: Baseline and two-week follow-up

    Participants will report on the likelihood of them changing their alcohol and PBS use on a scale of 1 (not likely) to 10 (very likely) on a two-item custom measure. Items include: 1. "Please rate how likely you are to make changes to your drinking behaviors, so you drink less or drink in a safer way. Please base the following answer based on how you are feeling RIGHT NOW." and 2. "Please circle how likely you are to try out new strategies to help you drink less or drink more safely. Please base the following answer based on how you are feeling RIGHT NOW." Change will be examined across groups as mean change in likelihood of changing at follow-up relative to baseline.

  2. Confidence in Changing

    Time frame: Baseline and two-week-follow-up

    Participants will report how confident they are in changing their alcohol and PBS use on a scale of 1 (not confident) to 10 (very confident) on a two-item custom measure. Items include: 1. "Please circle how confident you are in your ability to change your drinking, so you drink less or drink in a safer way. Please base the following answer based on how you are feeling RIGHT NOW." and 2. "Please circle how confident you are that you could use new strategies to help you drink less or drink more safely. Please base the following answer based on how you are feeling RIGHT NOW." Change will be examined across groups as mean change in confidence of changing at follow-up relative to baseline.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Alison Looby, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

Anna M Petrey, BS

CONTACT

[email protected]

307-314-2111

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Wyoming

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Sep 5, 2025
Registry last updated
Apr 28, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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