A randomised controlled trial to investigate the effects of two personalised digital interventions on alcohol risky drinking and alcohol related harms in young people

Last registered on February 05, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
A randomised controlled trial to investigate the effects of two personalised digital interventions on alcohol risky drinking and alcohol related harms in young people
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0001082
Initial registration date
March 10, 2016

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
March 10, 2016, 5:52 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
February 05, 2025, 11:03 AM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Emma Davies
Affiliation
Oxford Brookes University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Adam Lonsdale
PI Affiliation
Oxford Brookes University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
David Foxcroft
PI Affiliation
Oxford Brookes University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2015-10-12
End date
2016-05-31
Keywords
Health
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Alcohol misuse is associated with a number of harmful short and long term consequences for young people. Health campaigns that aim to educate people about these risks are often ineffective, possibly because consequences may be felt too far in the future, or they fail to account for the determinants of drinking for young people. However, social image and reputation may be important concerns for young people (Gerrard et al, 2008). Therefore, a focus on short term social consequences, rather than long term harms may be more appropriate in this population. This study aims to explore the potential of two online interventions to reduce risky drinking and alcohol related harms in young people compared to controls. Participants will be young people aged 18-30 who identify as drinking alcohol. They will complete baseline measures about their drinking behaviours and psychological factors including measures of public and private self-consciousness and prototype perceptions. They will then be randomised to one of four groups, two interventions and two control groups. Four weeks later they will complete follow up measures. Furthermore we will interview approximately 25 people to explore their views about the online interventions.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Davies, Emma, David Foxcroft and Adam Lonsdale. 2025. "A randomised controlled trial to investigate the effects of two personalised digital interventions on alcohol risky drinking and alcohol related harms in young people ." AEA RCT Registry. February 05. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1082-3.1
Former Citation
Davies, Emma, David Foxcroft and Adam Lonsdale. 2025. "A randomised controlled trial to investigate the effects of two personalised digital interventions on alcohol risky drinking and alcohol related harms in young people ." AEA RCT Registry. February 05. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1082/history/251403
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Arm 1) ‘One too many’
The ‘One Too Many’ online intervention focuses on social embarrassment that young people may encounter when drinking to excess. This novel intervention asks participants about 20 potentially embarrassing situations that they may have experienced while drinking. The questions were developed following focus group discussions with students and refined by piloting in a number of stages. For example the questions ask about posting something embarrassing on social media, being sick in public and getting into fights with friends. On completion, the participant is presented with a social embarrassment score (0-20?).
Arm 2) Drinks meter
Web-based interventions such as ‘One Too Many’ are advantageous because of their potential to reach large numbers of people, and since intervention fidelity can be maintained. There is some evidence to suggest that brief interventions delivered using the internet might be effective in targeting alcohol consumption (Bewick et al., 2008). An appropriate comparison to ‘One Too Many’ therefore is ‘Drinks Meter’ developed by the Global Drug Survey. Drinks meter uses a traditional ‘identification and brief advice (IBA) approach in which receive personalised feedback about their own drinking, and they also get information about how it compares with other people.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2015-10-12
Intervention End Date
2016-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Primary outcome measures:
• Audit C
• Last four week harms (major / minor)
• Last four weeks pre-loading

Sub group analyses:

• Risky drinking at baseline

Secondary outcome measures:
• Prototype perceptions
• Public and private self-consciousness
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Alcohol consumption will be measured using AUDIT C as this has been found to be an appropriate measure to identify risky drinking in young people (Foxcroft et al, 2014). Drinking related harms will offer a proxy measure for heavy consumption, with a focus on preventable consequences of drinking. Pre-loading, or consuming alcohol at home before a night out, is associated with high subsequent levels of consumption, intoxication and harms (Foster & Ferguson, 2013).

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Simple RCT with four conditions
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Random allocation via Qualtrics Survey Software
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
800 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
800 individuals at baseline and four week follow up
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
800
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Oxford Brookes University
IRB Approval Date
2015-08-06
IRB Approval Number
150944
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
May 31, 2016, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
May 31, 2016, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials

Description
Results report
Citation
Davies, Emma, David Foxcroft and Adam Lonsdale. 2025. "A randomised controlled trial to investigate the effects of two personalised digital interventions on alcohol risky drinking and alcohol related harms in young people ." AEA RCT Registry. February 05. 2025. "Registration Entry Title: Results report." AEA RCT Registry. February 05 https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1082-3.1
File
ResultsReport_1082.pdf

MD5: bfc84876339385e4b9f0c6383d5716f6

SHA1: 1cd5abda4adfb82040ecdd8ac4711a6bfd577f18

Uploaded At: February 05, 2025