Can non-alcoholic drinks help people cut back on drinking?
Non-alcoholic beverages: A foundational assessment of their potential utility in reducing alcohol use
Using smartphone prompts, researchers will track whether adults with alcohol use disorder and social drinkers drink less when they use non-alcoholic beers, wines, or mocktails.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Career grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11179205 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would be asked to use a smartphone app that sends brief real-time surveys about what you are drinking, craving, and feeling throughout the day. The K99 phase will enroll about 102 U.S. adults who meet criteria for alcohol use disorder and regularly use non-alcoholic beverages, and additional social drinkers will also be studied. Researchers will compare moments when participants use non-alcoholic drinks to moments when they use alcoholic drinks to see if non-alcoholic options replace alcohol or trigger more craving. The study uses ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to capture real-world drinking behavior and cravings as they happen.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults aged 21 or older who meet criteria for alcohol use disorder and regularly use non-alcoholic beverages, as well as social drinkers who commonly use them, would be ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People under 21, those who never drink alcohol or never use non-alcoholic alternatives, or anyone without a smartphone are unlikely to receive direct benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help people and clinicians know whether non-alcoholic beverages are a useful tool to reduce drinking or if they increase craving and risk.
How similar studies have performed: Some surveys and observational reports suggest people use non-alcoholic drinks to cut back, but rigorous real-time smartphone-based evidence in people with alcohol use disorder is limited and this approach is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Stanford, United States
- Stanford University — Stanford, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bowdring, Molly — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Bowdring, Molly
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.