Refining Boosters to Strengthen Online College Student Drinking Interventions

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application is for a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (MRSDA; K01). Abby L. Braitman, Ph.D., is an excellent candidate for this award. Her burgeoning program of research focuses broadly on harm reduction for emerging adult drinkers, with a specific focus on boosters to strengthen and extend the effects of popular online interventions for college drinking. Dr. Braitman [was previously] a National Research Service Award (NRSA) postdoctoral fellow at Old Dominion University, and the MRSDA would facilitate her goals of becoming a productive, independent scientist researching the reduction of alcohol-related problems among emerging adults. To strengthen her current skill set, broaden her knowledge to a wider scope, and add new skills to her repertoire, the following training goals have been identified for the award period: 1) to broaden and strengthen her emerging adult alcohol use knowledge base, 2) to develop expertise in the enhancement and evaluation of boosters to interventions for college drinkers, 3) to increase her proficiency in the principles an skills of Social Network Analysis, 4) to enhance scholarly productivity via secondary data analyses and manuscript preparation, and 5) to increase her skills and productivity regarding grantsmanship. The training and research plan enlists the mentorship and collaboration of Kate Carey, Ph.D., Professor of Behavioral & Social Sciences at Brown University, Michelle Kelley, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, and Cathy Lau-Barraco, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology, both at Old Dominion University, [as well as Kayo Fujimoto, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Texas], with the consultant Ken Leonard, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist and Director of the Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) out of SUNY, Buffalo. Old Dominion University, a large, state-supported institution in Norfolk, Virginia is an ideal institutional environment to carry out these goals, with numerous resources in support of both the training and research goals specified. The research activities under the proposed award include a series of three studies designed to refine the methodology, improve the efficacy of an electronic booster, [and close the gap between in-person and computerized interventions]; this program of research aims to 1) examine if personal contact enhances the tailored feedback received via booster email, 2) identify optimal timing of delivery for booster, [3a) explore social mechanisms of change], 3b) examine the effects of interventions-plus-boosters when delivered to existing social networks (i.e., fraternities/sororities, and individual drinking networks), and 4) examine previously identified potential moderators and mediators of reductions in alcohol use and related problems. Results from the proposed research will provide preliminary data for an R01 application to be completed by Dr. Braitman during the award period. Completion of the proposed training and research would allow her to transition to independence as an investigator and lay the groundwork for her long-term career goals.