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NCT Number: NCT07621822

Telephone-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Young Adult Hazardous Drinkers

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if telephone-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) works to help young adults with hazardous or harmful alcohol use quit drinking. It will also learn about the psychological effects of ACT on participants.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Does telephone-based ACT increase the number of participants who quit drinking, as confirmed by a urine test? 2. Does telephone-based ACT help participants reduce their alcohol consumption and improve their psychological flexibility?

Researchers will compare telephone-based ACT to a telephone-based social support programme to see if ACT works to help young adults quit drinking.

Participants will:

1. Receive telephone-based ACT or social support once a week for 6 weeks Complete questionnaires about their alcohol use and psychological flexibility. 2. Keep a record of their daily alcohol consumption throughout the study using a standardised diary method. 3. Provide a urine sample at the 6-month follow-up if they report having quit drinking

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Key information

Conditions

Hazardous Drinking Alcohol Drinking Behavior Drinking Behavior Harmful Alcohol Use

Age range

18 year–35 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • (1) aged 18-35 years
  • (2) able to read Chinese and speak Cantonese
  • (3) have AUDIT scores ≥ 8

Exclusion criteria

  • (1) currently receiving other behavioural therapies for drinking
  • (2) has serious mental illnesses, defined as a Kessler Psychological Distress Scale score ≥ 13

Treatment and study plan

Telephone-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Behavioral

Participants in the intervention group will receive six weekly telephone sessions of ACT (45-60 min each) from interventionist.

Telephone-based social support

Behavioral

Participants in the control group will receive six weekly telephone sessions of social support (45 min each) from interventionist.

Primary outcomes

  1. Biochemically-Validated Abstinence

    Time frame: T4 (6 months after the end of the intervention)

    Participants who self-report quitting drinking in the past 30 days are tested for ethyl glucuronide (a by-product of alcohol metabolism) via urine strips to confirm abstinence biochemically.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Self-Reported 30-Day Abstinence

    Time frame: T0 (baseline), T1 (post-intervention), T2 (1 month after the intervention), T3 (3 months after the intervention), T4 (6 months after the intervention)

    Reduction in alcohol consumption and self-reported 30-day abstinence will be recorded using TLFB. Participants will be asked to report the number of drinks they have consumed within the past 30 days.

  2. Reduction in Alcohol Consumption

    Time frame: T1 (post-intervention), T2 (1 month after the intervention), T3 (3 months after the intervention), T4 (6 months after the intervention)

    Defined as 50% or more reduction in average alcohol consumption per day compared to baseline, measured using the Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB) questionnaire.

  3. Psychological Flexibility Index

    Time frame: T0 (baseline), T1 (post-intervention), T2 (1 month after the intervention), T3 (3 months after the intervention), T4 (6 months after the intervention)

    Personalised Psychological Flexibility Index(PPFI) will be used to measure psychological flexibility by 19 items rating on a 7-point scale. Higher scores represent greater psychological flexibility. It has been validated among Chinese college students

Study contacts

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

Ka Wai Katherine LAM, Doctor of Philosophy

CONTACT

[email protected]

+852 27666420

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Telephone-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Assist Young Adults With Hazardous or Harmful Alcohol Use to Quit Drinking

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2029
Study completion
2029
First posted
Jun 2, 2026
Registry last updated
Jun 2, 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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