New Study Reveals Novel Approach to Reduce College Drinking Harms Without Reducing Alcohol Intake

Researchers from the Brown University School of Public Health, Rutgers University, and the University of Houston developed and tested a brief intervention called Counter-Attitudinal Advocacy (CAA). Published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, the study explored CAA’s effectiveness compared to the established Personalized Normative Feedback (PNF) method and a control group.

College-aged young adults are the demographic most likely to engage in heavy drinking (defined as four or more drinks per occasion for women, five or more for men) and suffer related consequences. These problems extend beyond the individual drinker, affecting the wider campus community through issues like interrupted study, aggression, assault, and the need for sober students to care for intoxicated peers.

The CAA intervention works by having students advocate for a position that contradicts their potential pro-drinking attitudes or the belief that heavy drinking is integral to college life. Instead of directly challenging a student’s personal drinking habits, it prompts them to reflect on why avoiding alcohol-related problems (like blackouts or risky behaviors) is generally beneficial for young people and to identify their own strategies for minimizing these risks.

“Instead of directly telling students what to do, we prompt them to generate their own strategies,” explained Kate Carey, co-lead investigator and professor at Brown’s School of Public Health. “This makes the intervention personalized and non-confrontational.”

The study involved 585 college students across two sites in randomized controlled trials. Researchers primarily looked at changes in drinks per week and the number of alcohol-related consequences experienced.

The results showed distinct effects for the two interventions:

• Personalized Normative Feedback (PNF): As expected, students receiving PNF – which corrects misperceptions about peer drinking norms – reported consuming significantly fewer drinks per week compared to the control group.
• Counter-Attitudinal Advocacy (CAA): Students receiving CAA reported significantly fewer alcohol-related consequences compared to the control group, achieving its harm-reduction goal, although it did not significantly reduce the overall number of drinks consumed per week.

“Our results showed that PNF did reduce alcohol consumption, as expected. But CAA specifically reduced the number of problems participants reported due to drinking,” Carey stated. “So, while they had different effects, they were complementary – giving us another useful tool for harm reduction.”

Carey noted that the act of verbalizing their reasoning for avoiding problems likely reinforced the CAA intervention’s impact, as people tend to commit more strongly to publicly stated views.

Both CAA and PNF interventions take only 5-10 minutes, making them practical for widespread use on campuses. The researchers emphasize the importance of having diverse, evidence-based options, as no single approach works for every student. CAA provides a valuable alternative or complement, particularly for those who may not respond well to consumption-focused interventions like PNF.

The research team, including co-primary investigators Angelo DiBello from Rutgers University and Clayton Neighbors from the University of Houston, is encouraged that CAA offers an effective new strategy focused specifically on reducing the negative consequences associated with student drinking.

Disclaimer: This news article is based on information provided regarding a specific research study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (DOI: 10.1037/ccp0000949). It is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical or psychological advice. Individuals concerned about alcohol consumption or its consequences should consult with qualified healthcare or counseling professionals.