Nearly 60% of college students use alcohol and 30% binge drink monthly. This is alarming given that heavy alcohol use is linked to serious detrimental outcomes. Despite various prevention and intervention strategies, heavy alcohol use has remained relatively stable over the past decade. Individual differences in stress response connote risk for alcohol use disorder. Anxiety sensitivity (AS) and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) are two key cognitive vulnerabilities that can hinder resilience by amplifying stress responses and promoting maladaptive coping strategies, such as alcohol use. Effective stress management is a cornerstone of resilience. The Intervention for Managing Psychological Responding to Overwhelming Emotions (IMPROVE) targets AS and IU, key barriers to resilience, by modifying cognitive processes that amplify stress and negative affect. In this study, undergraduate students who engage in heavy drinking behaviors and experience elevated anxiety symptoms will be randomized to IMPROVE or a control health promotion intervention (N=20 per arm). All participants will complete daily ecological momentary assessments (EMA) delivered to participants' mobile phones to capture real-world alcohol use before, during, and after the intervention. The investigators will evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of IMPROVE (Aim 1). The investigators will also include a multimodal battery of self-report and objective lab-based measures of AS and IU involving startle eyeblink potentiation and event-related potentials via electromyography (EMG) and electroencephalography (EEG). This will allow the investigators to examine whether IMPROVE changes IU and AS, and to assess if changes in these targets are associated with changes in alcohol use (Aim 2).
Age range
18 Years
Sex
ALL
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A starting point for the conversation — always confirm anything about your own eligibility, costs, and care with the study team and your doctor.
Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8
Timeframe: Week 4 (Day 28): administered immediately after the post-intervention laboratory visit, one week after Session 3.
System Usability Scale
Timeframe: Week 4 (Day 28): administered immediately after the post-intervention laboratory visit.
Intolerance of Uncertainty-12 Scale
Timeframe: Baseline (Day 0), Week 4 (Day 28), and Week 8 (Day 56): change scores will be calculated from Day 0 to each follow-up point.
Anxiety Sensitivity-3 Scale
Timeframe: Baseline (Day 0), Week 4 (Day 28), and Week 8 (Day 56): change scores will be calculated from Day 0 to each follow-up point.
Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 10
Timeframe: Baseline (Day 0), Week 4 (Day 28), and Week 8 (Day 56): change scores will be calculated from Day 0 to each follow-up point.
Timeline Followback
Timeframe: Baseline (Day 0) and Week 4 (Day 28): 30-day recall at each assessment; change calculated between the two administrations.
Drinking Behaviors
Timeframe: Baseline (Day 0), Week 4 (Day 28), and Week 8 (Day 56): change scores will be calculated from Day 0 to each follow-up point.
The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test
Timeframe: Baseline (Day 0), Week 4 (Day 28), and Week 8 (Day 56): change scores will be calculated from Day 0 to each follow-up point.