A new study examined the effectiveness of three interventions to risky drinking among undergraduate students: An assessment alone, a web-based intervention, and a web-based intervention plus text messaging. Participants were 111 U.S. college students from an introductory psychology course who completed questionnaires on drinking outcomes, typical drinking behaviors, past 30-day heavy episodic drinking, and alcohol-related consequences. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three interventions and measures were collected at baseline, three months, and a one-month follow-up. Students in the web-based intervention plus text messaging group received text messages designed to reinforce topics covered during the online intervention that were delivered at high-risk times for heavy drinking episodes, as well as educational text messages about general health behaviors. The researchers found participants in the web-based intervention plus text messaging group consumed significantly fewer drinks per weekend occasion than those in the assessment only or web intervention-only groups at three months. There was no evidence that group assignment was associated with fewer alcohol-related consequences at follow-up.
Take away: The results of this study provide partial support for the utility of text messaging as an adjunct to web-based interventions to reduce alcohol consumption among college students.