Personalized social norms and skills training to reduce college drinking
Social Norms & Skills Training: Motivating Campus Change
This project compares short, clear personalized feedback and skills messages sent by text, email, or online to help college students drink less and avoid alcohol-related harms.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Washington NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11127734 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would receive personalized feedback and brief skills-training messages delivered remotely by email, text, or online, with some messages focusing on a single clear idea and others combining several elements. The research compares simpler single-component messages (for example, how your drinking compares to peers) with more comprehensive multi-component packages and tests different timing, especially around high-risk events like holidays. Researchers collect surveys about drinking patterns, consequences, and attention/comprehension of the messages over time. The goal is to find delivery methods and timing that reduce confusion, keep messages clear, and help you cut back on risky drinking.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are college students who drink alcohol, especially those who sometimes binge drink or want to cut back and who have regular access to email or a cell phone.
Not a fit: People with moderate-to-severe alcohol use disorder who need medical or inpatient treatment, those not interested in changing their drinking, or individuals without reliable internet/phone access may not benefit from these remote interventions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could make brief, easy-to-access messages more effective at lowering risky drinking and alcohol-related harms among college students.
How similar studies have performed: Similar personalized feedback programs have shown small-to-moderate short-term benefits, but combining components and optimizing timing is a newer approach with mixed results so far.
Where this research is happening
Seattle, United States
- University of Washington — Seattle, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Larimer, Mary E. — University of Washington
- Study coordinator: Larimer, Mary E.
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.