Text Message Intervention for Underage Alcohol Use

Recruiting in Palo Alto (17 mi)

Age: < 65

Sex: Any

Travel: May be covered

Time Reimbursement: Varies

Trial Phase: Academic

Waitlist Available

Sponsor: Loyola Marymount University

No Placebo Group

Trial Summary

What is the purpose of this trial?This pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) will evaluate both the feasibility and efficacy of Digitally Prompted Parenting (DPP), a text-message based parent intervention (tm-PBI) designed to prevent and reduce alcohol use among first-year college students. In this study, parents of incoming first-year students will receive risk-reducing text messages during the first 10 weeks of the Fall semester, which they can forward to their students. The trial uses a longitudinal design to compare drinking outcomes between students whose parents receive the DPP messages and those whose parents receive an established alcohol PBI (the active control condition). The investigators hypothesize that students in the DPP group will report lower levels of alcohol use and fewer alcohol-related consequences after the intervention compared to those in the active control group.

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for parents of incoming first-year college students. It aims to involve them in preventing and reducing their child's alcohol use by sending risk-reducing text messages that they can forward to their student during the initial weeks of college.

Exclusion Criteria

I am not between the ages of 17 and 20.

Participant Groups

The study tests Digitally Prompted Parenting (DPP), a program where parents receive texts about reducing alcohol risks, against an established parent-based intervention. The goal is to see if DPP leads to lower alcohol use in students compared with the control group over the first semester.

2Treatment groups

Experimental Treatment

Active Control

Group I: Digitally Prompted ParentingExperimental Treatment1 Intervention

Parents of participating first-year college students in this intervention arm will receive a series of prewritten text messages during the first 10 weeks of college. Parents can personalize these messages before sending them directly to their student, who is the study participant, with the goal of reducing alcohol-related risks.

Group II: Active ControlActive Control1 Intervention

Parents of participating first-year college students in this arm of the study will receive access to the Parent Handbook during the summer before matriculation and three booster emails that summarize its key points after matriculation.