A computer-based brief intervention for college drinkers

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goals of this project are to develop, evaluate, and disseminate two software programs that provide brief motivational interventions for heavy drinking college students: The College Drinker's Check-ups (CDCUs). The CDCUs will be revisions of the Drinker's Check-up (DCU) Windows program and a parallel web application developed for older adults. The interventions will consist of integrated Assessment, Feedback and Decision Making modules. The programs will use the FRAMES elements common to effective brief motivational interventions. The target population is heavy drinking college students (5 or more drinks per occasion for males, 4 or more for females). Phase I goals are to revise the DCU Windows application and its companion program, the Follow-up Drinker's Check-up (FDCU) then evaluate them for technical merit and feasibility. DCU revisions are to: 1) add additional elements to the assessment of quantity/frequency of drinking and of alcohol-related problems appropriate to college students, 2) delete assessments of dependence and alcohol-related problems that are inappropriate for college students, 3) add college specific normative feedback on quantity/frequency and alcohol-related problems, 4) add animated graphics to the feedback module, and 6) revise the look and feel of the program to make it more appealing to students. FDCU revisions will parallel those in the assessment module in the CDCU and revisions to its outcome report functions that reflect changes in the assessments and feedback. Phase II goals include any additional revisions of the CDCU & FDCU Windows applications based on feedback from the pilot study and expert panel, pilot testing of the final prototype, then a controlled clinical trial with 12 month follow-up to assess its effectiveness. The DCU web application also will be revised so that it is parallel to the CDCU Windows application. Developing, evaluating, and disseminating effective programs that reduce heavy drinking could be one answer to the increase in heavy episodic drinking and its consequences in students.