Sexual Aggression, Heavy Drinking
Conditions
Brief summary
Rates of sexual assault are alarmingly high, and alcohol is consistently implicated in the majority of these assaults. Despite well-intentioned prevention efforts, this pandemic continues unabated, warranting the development of novel and innovative approaches to the reduction of sexual aggression. The goal of this research is to evaluate the efficacy of two brief online emotion regulation interventions for reducing alcohol-related sexual aggression in heavy episodic drinking young men with a sexual aggression history. Previous research suggests that emotion regulation difficulties are associated with both alcohol consumption and aggressive behavior. Despite the potential prevention utility of improving sexually aggressive men's emotion regulation skills in order to reduce their alcohol-related sexual aggression, this approach has yet to be explored. Thus, this study evaluates the effects of two brief online ER interventions - cognitive restructuring and mindfulness - on men's emotion regulation during a sexual aggression-related analogue. Additionally, these effects will be evaluated during both sober and intoxicated states through a laboratory- based alcohol administration experiment.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALCognitive Restructuring
Participants receive didactic instruction regarding cognitive restructuring skills and then practice using these skills in hypothetical situations.
BEHAVIORALMindfulness
Participants receive didactic instruction regarding mindfulness skills and then practice using these skills in hypothetical situations.
OTHERAlcohol consumption
Participants consume an alcoholic beverage in the lab.
Sponsors
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Arizona State University
University of Washington
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
21 Years to 30 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Single * Male * Age 21-30 * Heterosexually active within past year * Heavy episodic drinker * Self-reported history of sexual aggression
Exclusion criteria
* History of alcohol problems * Medical condition or medications that contraindicate alcohol consumption
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sexual Aggression Intentions | Within one hour after receiving the intervention | Sexual Aggression Intentions Scale. Construct: Self-reported ratings of sexual aggression likelihood in a hypothetical scenario. Minimum value of 1 (Very unlikely). Maximum value of 7 (Very likely). Higher scores mean a worse outcome. |
Countries
United States
Participant flow
Pre-assignment details
All enrolled participants were assigned to one of the six arms.
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Cognitive Restructuring & Alcohol Condition Participants received a brief online training regarding the use of cognitive restructuring skills to cope with negative emotions, then received an alcoholic beverage in the lab.
Cognitive Restructuring: Participants receive didactic instruction regarding cognitive restructuring skills and then practice using these skills in hypothetical situations. | 35 |
| Mindfulness & Alcohol Condition Participants received a brief online training regarding the use of mindfulness skills to cope with negative emotions, then received an alcoholic beverage in the lab.
Mindfulness: Participants receive didactic instruction regarding mindfulness skills and then practice using these skills in hypothetical situations. | 35 |
| Nutrition Information & Alcohol Condition Participants received general information about nutrition, then received an alcoholic beverage in the lab. | 37 |
| Cognitive Restructuring & No Alcohol Condition Participants received a brief online training regarding the use of cognitive restructuring skills to cope with negative emotions, then received a non-alcoholic beverage in the lab.
Cognitive Restructuring: Participants receive didactic instruction regarding cognitive restructuring skills and then practice using these skills in hypothetical situations. | 34 |
| Mindfulness & No Alcohol Condition Participants received a brief online training regarding the use of mindfulness skills to cope with negative emotions, then received a non-alcoholic beverage in the lab.
Mindfulness: Participants receive didactic instruction regarding mindfulness skills and then practice using these skills in hypothetical situations. | 34 |
| Nutrition Information & No Alcohol Condition Participants received general information about nutrition, then received a non-alcoholic beverage in the lab. | 34 |
| Total | 209 |
Withdrawals & dropouts
| Period | Reason | FG000 | FG001 | FG002 | FG003 | FG004 | FG005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Study | Withdrawal by Subject | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Cognitive Restructuring & Alcohol Condition | Mindfulness & Alcohol Condition | Nutrition Information & Alcohol Condition | Cognitive Restructuring & No Alcohol Condition | Mindfulness & No Alcohol Condition | Nutrition Information & No Alcohol Condition | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 24.67 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.88 | 24.06 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.78 | 25.09 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 3.03 | 25.32 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.58 | 24.35 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.6 | 25.08 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.68 | 24.76 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.77 |
| Body Weight | 175.29 pounds STANDARD_DEVIATION 26.54 | 170.34 pounds STANDARD_DEVIATION 24.66 | 170.26 pounds STANDARD_DEVIATION 26.75 | 184.09 pounds STANDARD_DEVIATION 48.79 | 173.53 pounds STANDARD_DEVIATION 21.29 | 170.97 pounds STANDARD_DEVIATION 21 | 174.07 pounds STANDARD_DEVIATION 29.72 |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Hispanic or Latino | 2 Participants | 4 Participants | 3 Participants | 3 Participants | 6 Participants | 3 Participants | 21 Participants |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Not Hispanic or Latino | 33 Participants | 31 Participants | 34 Participants | 31 Participants | 28 Participants | 30 Participants | 187 Participants |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 1 Participants | 1 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) American Indian or Alaska Native | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Asian | 4 Participants | 5 Participants | 8 Participants | 6 Participants | 7 Participants | 7 Participants | 37 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Black or African American | 1 Participants | 4 Participants | 2 Participants | 0 Participants | 2 Participants | 5 Participants | 14 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) More than one race | 3 Participants | 4 Participants | 6 Participants | 2 Participants | 4 Participants | 4 Participants | 23 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 1 Participants | 0 Participants | 3 Participants | 1 Participants | 3 Participants | 2 Participants | 10 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) White | 26 Participants | 22 Participants | 18 Participants | 25 Participants | 18 Participants | 16 Participants | 125 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 35 Participants | 35 Participants | 37 Participants | 34 Participants | 34 Participants | 34 Participants | 209 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk | EG002 affected / at risk | EG003 affected / at risk | EG004 affected / at risk | EG005 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 35 | 0 / 35 | 0 / 37 | 0 / 34 | 0 / 34 | 0 / 34 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 35 | 0 / 35 | 0 / 37 | 0 / 34 | 0 / 34 | 0 / 34 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 35 | 0 / 35 | 0 / 37 | 0 / 34 | 0 / 34 | 0 / 34 |
Outcome results
Primary
Sexual Aggression Intentions
Sexual Aggression Intentions Scale. Construct: Self-reported ratings of sexual aggression likelihood in a hypothetical scenario. Minimum value of 1 (Very unlikely). Maximum value of 7 (Very likely). Higher scores mean a worse outcome.
Time frame: Within one hour after receiving the intervention
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive Restructuring & Alcohol Condition | Sexual Aggression Intentions | 1.58 score on a scale | Standard Deviation 1.12 |
| Mindfulness & Alcohol Condition | Sexual Aggression Intentions | 1.90 score on a scale | Standard Deviation 1.28 |
| Nutrition Information & Alcohol Condition | Sexual Aggression Intentions | 2.18 score on a scale | Standard Deviation 1.59 |
| Cognitive Restructuring & No Alcohol Condition | Sexual Aggression Intentions | 1.53 score on a scale | Standard Deviation 1.16 |
| Mindfulness & No Alcohol Condition | Sexual Aggression Intentions | 1.38 score on a scale | Standard Deviation 0.9 |
| Nutrition Information & No Alcohol Condition | Sexual Aggression Intentions | 1.70 score on a scale | Standard Deviation 1.15 |
p-value: 0.041ANOVA
p-value: 0.16ANOVA
p-value: 0.462ANOVA