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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT02897804

Engineering an Online STI Prevention Program

The overall objective of the proposed research is to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among college students. The investigators propose to accomplish this by using the innovative, engineering-inspired multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) to develop a highly effective, appealing, economical, and readily scalable internet-delivered behavioral intervention targeting the intersection of alcohol use and sexual risk behavior. The rate of STIs on college campuses is alarming: one in four college students is diagnosed with an STI at least once during their college experience. Sexual activity when drinking alcohol is highly prevalent among college students. Alcohol use is known to contribute to the sexual risk behaviors that are most responsible for the transmission of STIs, namely unprotected sex, contact with numerous partners, and "hook-ups" (casual sexual encounters). Few interventions have been developed that explicitly target the intersection of alcohol use and sexual risk behaviors, and none have been optimized. In order to reduce the incidence of STI transmission among this and other high-risk groups, a new approach is needed. MOST is a comprehensive methodological framework that brings the power of engineering principles to bear on optimization of behavioral interventions. MOST enables researchers to experimentally test the individual components in an intervention to determine their effectiveness, indicating which components need to be revised and re-tested. Given the high rates of alcohol use and sex among college students, the college setting provides an ideal opportunity for intervening on alcohol use and sexual risk behaviors. The proposed study will include a diverse population of college students on 4 campuses which will increase the generalizability of the findings. The specific aims are to (1) develop and pilot test an initial set of online intervention components targeting the link between alcohol use and sexual risk behaviors, (2) use the MOST approach to build an optimized preventive intervention, and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of the newly optimized preventive intervention using a fully powered randomized controlled trial (RCT). This work will result in a new, more potent behavioral intervention that will reduce the incidence of STIs among college students in the US, and will lay the groundwork for a new generation of highly effective STI prevention interventions aimed at other subpopulations at risk.

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Key information

Conditions

Sexual Behavior Alcohol Consumption Alcohol Drinking Behavior Communicable Diseases Disease Attributes Drinking Behavior Genital Diseases Infections Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Sexually Transmitted Diseases Urogenital Diseases

Age range

18 year–30 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Fresno State University, Fresno, California, United States

Loading trial locations.

About this study

As part of the MOST approach, the investigators will conduct a series of screening experiments to build an optimized intervention. The current study is the first (of two) screening experiments.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Currently enrolled at an American college or University.
  • A first year student or first-year transfer student.
  • 18 years of age or older.
  • Have not gone through previous versions of itMatters before

Exclusion criteria

  • Not a first year student or transfer student
  • Younger than 18 years of age
  • Have gone through previous versions of itMatters

Treatment and study plan

Knowledge alone

Behavioral

Increase knowledge related STIs, STI risk, alcohol impairment, condom use skills, alcohol use behavior tracking skills, testing & treatment services.

Self-efficacy alone

Behavioral

Increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Perceived benefits alone

Behavioral

Increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol.

Perceived benefits and self-efficacy

Behavioral

Increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Injunctive norms

Behavioral

Correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking.

Injunctive norms and self-efficacy

Behavioral

Correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Injunctive norms and perceived benefits

Behavioral

Correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking and increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Injunctive norms, perceived benefits, and self-efficacy

Behavioral

Correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking; increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex; and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Descriptive norms alone

Behavioral

Correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors.

Descriptive norms and self-efficacy

Behavioral

Correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Descriptive norms and perceived benefits

Behavioral

Correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors and increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol.

Descriptive norms,perceived benefits,self-efficacy

Behavioral

Correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors; increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol; and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Descriptive and injunctive norms

Behavioral

Correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors and correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking.

Descriptive norms, injunctive norms,self-efficacy

Behavioral

Correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors; correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking; and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Descriptive and injunctive norms, benefits

Behavioral

Correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors; correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking; and increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol.

Descriptive and injunctive norms, benefits,efficacy

Behavioral

Correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors; correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking; increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol; and Increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Expectancies alone

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter.

Expectancies and self-efficacy

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Expectancies and Perceived Benefits

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter and increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol.

Expectancies, perceived benefits, self-efficacy

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter; increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol; and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Expectancies and injunctive norms

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter and correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking.

Expectancies, injunctive norms, and self-efficacy

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter; correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking; and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Expectancies, injunctive norms, benefits

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter; correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking; and increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol.

Expectancies, injunctive norms, benefits, efficacy

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter; correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking; increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol; and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Expectancies and descriptive norms

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter and correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors.

Expectancies, descriptive norms, and self-efficacy

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter; correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors; and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Expectancies, descriptive norms, and benefits

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter; correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors; and increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol.

Expectancies,descriptive norms, benefits, efficacy

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter; correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors; increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol; and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Expectancies, descriptive and injunctive norms

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter; correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors; and correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking.

Expectancies, descr& injun norms, efficacy

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter; correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors; correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking; and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Expectancies, desc & injun norms, benefits

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter; correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors; correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking; and increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol.

Expectancies,desc & injun norms,benefits,efficacy

Behavioral

Decrease the expectation that alcohol is needed to have good sexual encounter; correct misperceptions of prevalence of alcohol-induced sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use/misuse, and sexual risk behaviors; correct misperceptions regarding approval of alcohol misuse & sexual risk taking; increase perceived benefits to use protective behavioral strategies to reduce the negative consequences of engaging in sexual behaviors under the influence of alcohol; and increase self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies (e.g., condom negotiation skills) to reduce unprotected sex.

Primary outcomes

  1. Descriptive norms about the intersection of alcohol and sex collected via an online questionnaire.

    Time frame: This measure will be assessed immediately following the 3-week intervention

    This scale consists of 6 items and will be created as a weighted scale score. Analyses will report the mean and standard deviation and expected mean values from a regression analysis. The scale will reflect the average perceived prevalence of the alcohol and sex behaviors.

  2. Injunctive norms about the intersection of alcohol and sex collected via an online questionnaire.

    Time frame: This measure will be assessed immediately following the 3-week intervention

    This scale consists of 6 items and will be created as a weighted scale score. Analyses will report the mean and standard deviation and expected mean values from a regression analysis. The scale will reflect the average perceived approval of the alcohol and sex behaviors, ranging from strongly disapprove to strongly approve.

  3. Expectancies about the intersection of alcohol use and sex collected via an online questionnaire.

    Time frame: This measure will be assessed immediately following the 3-week intervention

    This scale consists of 10 items and will be created as a weighted scale score. Analyses will report the mean and standard deviation and expected mean values from a regression analysis. The scale will reflect the average number of drinks expected to experience the 10 different outcomes.

  4. Perceived benefits about using protective behavioral strategies collected via an online questionnaire.

    Time frame: This measure will be assessed immediately following the 3-week intervention

    This scale consists of 11 items and will be created as a weighted scale score. Analyses will report the mean and standard deviation and expected mean values from a regression analysis. The scale will reflect the average likelihood of contracting an STI using the listed behaviors.

  5. Self-efficacy to use protective behavioral strategies collected via an online questionnaire.

    Time frame: This measure will be assessed immediately following the 3-week intervention

    This scale consists of 9 items and will be created as a weighted scale score. Analyses will report the mean and standard deviation and expected mean values from a regression analysis. The scale will reflect the average level of confidence is using protective behavioral strategies to reduce the risk of contracting and STI, ranging from not at all confident to extremely confident.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Binge drinking behavior collected via an online questionnaire

    Time frame: This measure will be assessed 1 month following the completion of the intervention

    This item asks how many times in the past two weeks a male has 5 or more drinks in a 2-hour period (or females 4 or more drinks in a 2-hour period). This variable will be collapsed into 1 or more times versus other and reported as a prevalence of this behavior and used as a dichotomous outcome in regression analyses.

  2. Unprotected sex behavior at most recent sex collected via an online questionnaire

    Time frame: This measure will be assessed 1 month following the completion of the intervention

    This item asks whether or not a condom was used for oral, anal or vaginal sex. This variable will be collapsed into a dichotomous variable with unprotected anal or vaginal sex versus other and reported as a prevalence of this behavior and used as a dichotomous outcome in regression analyses.

  3. Penetrative sex at most recent hookup collected via an online questionnaire

    Time frame: This measure will be assessed 1 month following the completion of the intervention

    This item asks whether or not the most recent hookup included vaginal or anal sex. This variable will be collapsed into a dichotomous variable with penetrative sex versus other and reported as a prevalence of this behavior and used as a dichotomous outcome in regression analyses.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Penn State University

Other

Collaborators

  • University of North Carolina, Greensboro

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2016
Primary completion
2016
Study completion
2017
First posted
Sep 13, 2016
Registry last updated
Jan 9, 2019

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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