A Randomized Pilot Trial of a Mobile-Delivered Brief Behavioral Economic Intervention to Reduce Emerging Adult Alcohol Misuse

Objective. Heavy episodic drinking is a significant social and public health problem that peaks during emerging adulthood. In-person brief motivational interventions have been shown to be efficacious in reducing heavy drinking and problems in college students, but require student effort and personnel resources that may limit dissemination. The current study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a counselor-administered, synchronous text-message delivered brief motivational intervention aimed to reduce college student alcohol misuse. Method. Participants were 66 college students (63.6% identified as cisgender women; 61.9% identified their race as White; Mage = 19.95, SD = 1.66) who at baseline reported an average of 11.88 (SD = 8.74) drinks per week, 4.42 (SD = 3.59) heavy drinking episodes, and 8.44 (SD = 5.62) alcohol-related problems in the past month. Participants were randomized to receive either alcohol and nutrition education (A + NE) or a brief motivational intervention plus behavioral economic-based Substance-Free Activity Session (BMI + SFAS). Both A + NE sessions each ran 40-50 minutes, and both BMI + SFAS sessions each ran 45-60 minutes. Both groups also received four weeks of booster content consistent with their respective assigned intervention, with once weekly boosters running 20-30 minutes each. All sessions, including boosters, were administered via synchronous text-message. Participants completed feedback measures following the 4 weeks of boosters and a final follow-up assessment 3 months post-boosters. Results. Completion rates were high with 90.9% completing both initial sessions and at least two of the four booster sessions with high retention rate at 3-month follow-up (87.9%). Participants found both interventions to be useful, interesting, relevant, and effective. Negative binomial regressions revealed that BMI + SFAS participants reported fewer past-month heavy drinking episodes at follow-up. There were no treatment effects for drinks per week or alcohol-related problems. Conclusion. The use of counselor-administered, synchronous text-messaging to deliver an alcohol brief motivational intervention is feasible and well-received by this predominantly White group of heavy drinking college students. The preliminary efficacy results are less clear but suggest that further investigation is warranted in the application of counselor-administered synchronous text-messaging in brief motivational interventions for heavy drinking emerging adults

Alcohol Demand, Future Orientation, and Craving Mediate the Relation between Negative Affective Symptoms and Alcohol Problems

Elevated depression and stress have been linked to greater levels of alcohol problems among young adults even after taking into account drinking level. The current study attempts to elucidate variables that might mediated the relation between symptoms of depression and stress and alcohol-related problems, including demand, future time orientation, and craving. Future orientation and craving significantly mediated the relation between depressive symptoms and alcohol-related problems. Alcohol demand, future orientation, and craving significantly mediated the relation between stress symptoms and alcohol-related problems. Heavy drinking young adults who experience stress or depression are likely to experience alcohol problems, and this is due in part to elevations in craving and alcohol demand, and less sensitivity to future outcomes. Interventions targeting alcohol misuse in young adults with elevated levels of depression and stress should attempt to increase future orientation and decrease craving and alcohol reward value

Clinical Decision-Making Following Disasters: Efficient Identification of PTSD Risk in Adolescents

The present study aimed to utilize a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) approach in order to improve clinical decision-making for adolescents at risk for the development of psychopathology in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Specifically we assessed theoretically-driven individual, interpersonal, and event-related vulnerability factors to determine which indices were most accurate in forecasting PTSD. Furthermore, we aimed to translate these etiological findings by identifying clinical cut-off recommendations for relevant vulnerability factors. Our study consisted of structured phone-based clinical interviews with 2,000 adolescent-parent dyads living within a 5-mile radius of tornados that devastated Joplin, MO, and northern Alabama in Spring 2011. Demographics, tornado incident characteristics, prior trauma, mental health, and family support and conflict were assessed. A subset of youth completed two behavioral assessment tasks online to assess distress tolerance and risk taking behavior. ROC analyses indicated four variables that significantly improved PTSD diagnostic efficiency: Lifetime depression (AUC=.90), trauma history (AUC=.76), social support (AUC=.70), and family conflict (AUC=.72). Youth were 2–3 times more likely to have PTSD if they had elevated scores on any of these variables. Of note, event-related characteristics (e.g., property damage) were not related to PTSD diagnostic status. The present study adds to the literature by making specific recommendations for empirically-based, efficient disaster-related PTSD assessment for adolescents following a natural disaster. Implications for practice and future trauma-related developmental psychopathology research are discussed

Using Demand Curves to Quantify the Reinforcing Value of Social and Solitary Drinking

BACKGROUND: Young adults typically drink in social settings and report high levels of episodic heavy drinking despite a range of adverse consequences. Behavioral economics posits that this may reflect a reinforcer pathology in which alcohol is overvalued relative to other reinforcers. Theoretically, the value of alcohol is related to both the direct pharmacological effects of alcohol (euphoria, sedation) and to the associated social reinforcement, but to date no studies have differentiated the value of social vs. solitary drinking. The current study examines two modified hypothetical alcohol purchase tasks (APTs), one explicitly social and one explicitly solitary, in order to quantify the reward value of social vs. solitary drinking, and to determine if there are unique clinical correlates of solitary alcohol demand. METHODS: Participants were young adults (N = 274, M(age) = 25.15, SD = 4.10) recruited from Mturk and from a university subject pool. Participants completed a solitary and social APT, in addition to measures of alcohol consumption and problems. RESULTS: Participants reported significantly greater demand in the social APT compared to the solitary APT across all demand indices. Elevated solitary and social demand were associated with elevated levels of alcohol use and problems. Using a residualized change approach, solitary demand amplitude (maximum consumption and expenditure) and persistence (price sensitivity) contributed additional variance above and beyond their social APT composite counterparts in predicting typical drinks per week and the self-care, academic/occupational, and physical dependence subscales of the YAACQ. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of peers increases alcohol demand compared to a solitary scenario, and greater relative solitary drinking demand may be a risk factor for greater alcohol consumption and problems

Using Demand Curves to Quantify the Reinforcing Value of Social and Solitary Drinking

Background: Young adults typically drink in social settings and report high levels of episodic heavy drinking despite a range of adverse consequences. Behavioral economics posits that this may reflect a reinforcer pathology in which alcohol is overvalued relative to other reinforcers. Theoretically, the value of alcohol is related to both the direct pharmacological effects of alcohol (euphoria, sedation) and the associated social reinforcement, but to date no studies have differentiated the value of social vs. solitary drinking. The current study examines two modified hypothetical alcohol purchase tasks (APTs), one explicitly social and one explicitly solitary, in order to quantify the reward value of social vs. solitary drinking and to determine whether there are unique clinical correlates of solitary alcohol demand. Methods: Participants were young adults (N = 274, Mage = 25.15, SD = 4.10) recruited from Mturk and from a university subject pool. Participants completed a solitary and social APT, in addition to measures of alcohol consumption and problems. Results: Participants reported significantly greater demand in the social APT compared to the solitary APT across all demand indices. Elevated solitary and social demand were associated with elevated levels of alcohol use and problems. Using a residualized change approach, solitary demand amplitude (maximum consumption and expenditure) and persistence (price sensitivity) contributed additional variance above and beyond their social APT composite counterparts in predicting typical drinks per week and the self-care, academic/occupational, and physical dependence subscales of the YAACQ. Conclusions: The presence of peers increases alcohol demand compared to a solitary scenario, and greater relative solitary drinking demand may be a risk factor for greater alcohol consumption and problems

A mobile phone–based brief intervention with personalized feedback and text messaging is associated with reductions in driving after drinking among college drinkers

Objective: Driving after drinking (DAD) among college students remains a significant public health concern and is perhaps the single riskiest drinking-related behavior. Counselor-delivered and web-based Brief Alcohol Interventions (BAIs) have been shown to reduce DAD among college students, but to date no study has evaluated the efficacy of a single-session mobile phone–based BAI specific to DAD. The present study examined whether a driving-specific BAI delivered via mobile phone would significantly decrease DAD among college students compared to an informational control. Method: Participants were 84 college students (67.1% women; average age = 23; 52.4% White) who endorsed driving after drinking two or more drinks at least twice in the past 3 months. After completing baseline measures, participants were randomly assigned to receive either (a) DAD information or (b) DAD mobile BAI that included personalized feedback and interactive text messaging. Participants completed outcome measures at 3-month follow-up. Results: Repeated-measures mixed modeling analyses revealed that students receiving the mobile phone–based BAI reported significantly greater reductions in likelihood of DAD (three or more drinks) and the number of drinks consumed before driving than students in the information condition at 3-month follow-up. Conclusions: These fi ndings provide preliminary support for the short-term efficacy of a mobile phone–based BAI for reducing DAD among college students

Alcohol Demand, Future Orientation, and Craving Mediate the Relation Between Depressive and Stress Symptoms and Alcohol Problems

Background: Elevated depression and stress have been linked to greater levels of alcohol problems among young adults even after taking into account drinking level. This study attempts to elucidate variables that might mediate the relation between symptoms of depression and stress and alcohol problems, including alcohol demand, future time orientation, and craving. Methods: Participants were 393 undergraduates (60.8% female, 78.9% White/Caucasian) who reported at least 2 binge-drinking episodes (4/5+ drinks for women/men, respectively) in the previous month. Participants completed self-report measures of stress and depression, alcohol demand, future time orientation, craving, and alcohol problems. Results: In separate mediation models that accounted for gender, race, and weekly alcohol consumption, future orientation and craving significantly mediated the relation between depressive symptoms and alcohol problems. Alcohol demand, future orientation, and craving significantly mediated the relation between stress symptoms and alcohol problems. Conclusions: Heavy-drinking young adults who experience stress or depression are likely to experience alcohol problems, and this is due in part to elevations in craving and alcohol demand, and less sensitivity to future outcomes. Interventions targeting alcohol misuse in young adults with elevated levels of depression and stress should attempt to increase future orientation and decrease craving and alcohol reward value

Evaluating Behavioral Economic Models of Heavy Drinking Among College Students

Background: Heavy drinking among college students is a significant public health concern that can lead to profound social and health consequences, including alcohol use disorder. Behavioral economics posits that low future orientation and high valuation of alcohol (alcohol demand) combined with deficits in alternative reinforcement increase the likelihood of alcohol misuse. Despite this, no study has examined the incremental utility of all 3 variables simultaneously in a comprehensive model. Methods: This study uses structural equation modeling to test the associations between behavioral economic variables—alcohol demand (latent), future orientation (measured with a delay discounting task and the Consideration of Future Consequences [CFC] scale), and proportionate substance-related reinforcement—and alcohol consumption and problems among 393 heavy drinking college students. Two models are tested as follows: (i) an iteration of the reinforcer pathology model that includes an interaction between future orientation and alcohol demand; and (ii) an alternative model evaluating the interconnectedness of behavioral economic variables in predicting problematic alcohol use. Results: The interaction effects in Model 1 were nonsignificant. Model 2 suggests that greater alcohol demand and proportionate substance-related reinforcement are associated with greater alcohol consumption and problems. Furthermore, CFC was associated with alcohol-related problems and lower proportionate substance-related reinforcement but was not significantly associated with alcohol consumption or alcohol demand. Finally, greater proportionate substance-related reinforcement was associated with greater alcohol demand. Conclusions: Our results support the validity of the behavioral economic reinforcer pathology model as applied to young adult heavy drinking

Protective behavioral strategies mediate the relationship between behavioral economic risk factors and alcohol-related problems

Behavioral economic measures of alcohol reward value and future orientation have received support as predictors of alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, and response to intervention. Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) have been shown to be a significant mediator between a variety of risk factors and alcohol-related problems. The current article examines direct and mediating associations between measures of alcohol reward value (proportionate substance-related activity participation and enjoyment) and future orientation, use of PBS, and alcohol-related problems. Participants were 393 undergraduates (39.2% male, 78.9% Caucasian) who reported at least 2 past-month binge drinking episodes (5 and 4 drinks for men and women, respectively). This study is a secondary analysis of data collected previously as part of a brief intervention study. Alcohol reward value and future orientation were significantly associated with both protective behavioral strategies and alcohol problems. PBS was a significant partial mediator between these variables and alcohol-related problems after controlling for gender, level of alcohol consumption, and sensation seeking. This study provides support for the hypothesis that high levels of reinforcement from alcohol relative to alternatives and low consideration of the future may lead to patterns of dysregulated drinking with few harm-reduction strategies that increase risk for alcohol problems. In addition to directly targeting PBS, brief alcohol interventions for college students should attempt to increase future orientation and substance-free activities