SHB: Small: Collaborative Research: Reducing Alcohol Use Among College Students Using Virtual Role Playing

该项目的主要目标是设计一种方法来应对大学生过度饮酒的挑战。特别是向大学一年级的过渡，是一个关键的年龄和生命时期，健康和幸福受到机会和同龄人酗酒压力的考验。具体而言，该项目假设，在基于网络的在线酒精预防计划中增加角色扮演的机会，与仅在二级预防试验中的基于网络的计划相比，将改善结果。所有参与者都接受了中央佛罗里达大学（UCF）酒精教育所要求的标准酒精预防计划。随机分配的参与者中有一半有机会通过角色扮演练习认知行为技能。这些沉浸式的练习课程在呈现大学生在真实的世界中所面临的情况时是现实的。有了这些技能和实践，预计他们将比那些缺乏这种经验的参与者少过度饮酒。所提出的治疗的一个独特方面是使用基于虚拟角色的数字木偶的最先进的交互式角色扮演体验。在这里，数字木偶是指使用人来实时控制动画角色的动作。几十年来，这种艺术性已经在包括电视和基于位置的娱乐在内的许多场所得到了应用。数字木偶目前被一个PI用于教育和同伴压力抵抗计划。通过提供自然和高度灵活的行为，木偶戏大大增加了互动性和沉浸感，同时提供灵活的外观和特征的字符和选择的互动scenes.An评估这种类型的酒精二级预防技术与大学生是在该领域的进步。具体地说，它允许调查一对一的虚拟角色扮演（例如，大学生可以练习拒绝参加饮酒游戏的聚会场景）可以帮助学生避免困难的同伴压力情况。它可以提供一种新的方法来加强和补充目前用于酒精二级预防的计划。

The project's main objective is devising a means to meet the challenge of excessive alcohol use by college students. The transition to the first year of college, in particular, is a critical age and life period when health and wellbeing are put to the test by the convergence of opportunity and peer pressure to drink heavily. Specifically, the project hypothesizes that adding the opportunity for role play in a web-based required online alcohol prevention program will improve the results compared to the web-based program only in a secondary prevention trial. All participants receive the standard alcohol prevention program required at the University of Central Florida (UCF), AlcoholEdu. Half of the randomly assigned participants have the opportunity to practice cognitive-behavioral skills through role plays. These immersive practice sessions are realistic in presenting situations that college students face in the real world. Armed with these skills and practice it is expected they will engage in less excessive alcohol use than those participants lacking this experience.A unique aspect of the proposed treatment is the use of a state-of-the-art interactive role play experience based on digital puppetry of virtual characters. Here, digital puppetry refers to the use of a human to control the actions of animated characters in real-time. Such artistry has been employed for several decades in a number of venues including television and location-based entertainment. Digital puppetry is currently employed by one of the PIs in education and peer-pressure resistance programs. By affording natural and highly versatile behaviors, puppetry greatly increases interactivity and immersion while affording flexibility in the appearance and traits of the characters and choices for the interactive scenes.An evaluation of this type of alcohol secondary prevention technique with college students is an advance in the field. Specifically, it allows the investigation of whether one-on-one virtual role-plays (e.g., a party scene in which college students can practice refusing to join a drinking game) can help students avoid difficult peer pressure situations. It could provide a new method to enhance and complement the programs currently used for alcohol secondary prevention.