Alcohol Use Disorder, Depression
Conditions
Keywords
Negative Emotional States, Anxiety, Alcohol norms, Trauma, PTSD, Stress, Self-medication
Brief summary
This study will examine the efficacy of an internet-based brief intervention designed to reduce risky behavior in Soldiers as they transition from Active Duty into the civilian workforce as a Veteran. Up to 700 soldiers intending to separate from the Army will be recruited, with the intention of drawing a final sample of 450 participants. Study participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention or the control group, stratified by age and gender.
Detailed description
The combination of alcohol use and negative emotional states is a particularly toxic combination for suicide risk. The current study examines changes in alcohol/drug use/misuse and depression as soldiers undergo the transition from Active Duty to Veteran and offers a personalized internet-based brief intervention intended to prevent/reduce alcohol misuse and depression in this population. The study's objectives are to empirically quantify the form of changes that occur with respect to alcohol use and depression over the transition; to identify stable individual risk factors (e.g., personality, military experiences) and dynamic risk factors (e.g., changes in stressors and normative contexts over time) that may be associated with differential temporal patterns of suicide-related behavior (i.e., alcohol use/misuse) and cognition (i.e., depression); and lastly, to determine whether a simple, internet-delivered brief intervention shown can reduce risky behavior in the transitioning Veteran population.
Interventions
OTHERInternet-Delivered Brief Intervention
The internet-delivered brief intervention developed for the study can be accessed via computers and mobile devices.. The intervention will employ assessment data to give study participants feedback on their drinking behavior and offer strategies to avoid risky behavior.
Sponsors
University of Washington
University of South Carolina
Cornell University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
One group will receive three opportunities to engage with a personalized internet-delivered brief intervention over the course of seven months and the second group will not be granted access.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 62 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Is US solider intending to separate from active duty during the study enrollment period * Intends to seek civilian employment * Plans to live in US
Exclusion criteria
* Plans to retire and not seek civilian employment * Plans to live outside of the US * Is separating or retiring from the National Guard or Reserves
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Heavy Episodic Drinking | Through study completion, an average of monthly over 15 months | Description Single Alcohol Screening Question (SASQ) (Williams and Vinson, 2001) |
| Change in Modal alcohol consumption | Through study completion, an average of monthly over 15 months | Daily Drinking Questionnaire (DDQ) (Collins, Parks, & Marlatt, 1985) |
| Change in Negative Emotional State -- Depression | Through study completion, an average of monthly over 15 months | The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Alcohol-related problems | Through study completion, an average of monthly over 15 months | Short Rutgers Alcohol Problems Index (S-RAPI) (Earleywine, LaBrie & Pedersen) |
| Change in Suicidal ideation | Through study completion, an average of monthly over 15 months | Measure developed by Nock et al., 2007 |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Employment | Through study completion, an average of monthly over 15 months | Current job situation/Change employment |
Countries
United States
Contacts
Primary ContactSamuel Bacharach, Ph.D.
Backup ContactPaul D Bliese, Ph.D.
Outcome results
None listed