Typical peer-delivered feedback interventions have been promising at reducing heavy drinking on college campuses, yet often pose challenges with respect to the training and resources needed to implement them. One correspondence published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs describes an alternative approach to peer feedback interventions that focuses on delivering an intervention requiring minimal training. Researchers conducted preliminary testing on a peer-delivered feedback intervention that influences alcohol pouring amounts in order to reduce overall consumption and prevent related harms. 36 college students were instructed to pour the amount of alcohol that they would typically pour for themselves into a 16 ounce cup. They then received feedback from a peer (using a standardized written protocol) about whether the amount they poured was a standard serving, was too little, or was too much. The control group received no feedback. Students were then asked to pour a second time 30 minutes after the feedback and again 1 month later. At the first pour, 27 students poured an amount larger than a serving; 17 of those students received the feedback intervention and were told they had poured too much. Compared with the students that received no feedback, those that did receive feedback decreased their pour amounts after 30 minutes and at the 1-month follow-up.
Take away: This unique, single-action peer feedback intervention showed lasting effects in preliminary testing. The intervention was successful at reducing the amount of alcohol students poured, and thus could reduce risky behaviors such heavy drinking. Similar single-action interventions could yield promising results for a sustainable peer intervention that shows efficacy without the use of a great deal of resources.