PNF: Alcohol And Sexual Risk Behavior
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
The current study proposes to develop, refine, and conduct a preliminary randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an innovative prevention program that is the first to (a) simultaneously target heavy episodic drinking (HED), sexually aggressive behavior (SAB), and risky sexual behavior (RSB) among college men; (b) integrate personalized feedback and cognitive training strategies; and (c) target the five major modifiable risk factors for SAB: HED, impersonal sex, misperceptions of sexual interest, rape-supportive attitudes, and peer influence. The program will be computer-delivered as this approach is well received by college students.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
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N/A |
Detailed Description
The study will include three phases (pilot feasibility n=10; pilot acceptability/efficacy n=40; RCT n=140), with 190 men at risk for HED, RSB, and SAB. Participants in the RCT will be randomly assigned to either the computer-based program or services as usual at 2 large public universities in the midwest and southwest U.S. The three study phases will address the following aims:
AIM ONE: Examine the feasibility of the computer administered personalized feedback and cognitive training approach (Phase I; n=10), and the acceptability and efficacy of individual intervention components based on skills assessments and interviews at 1-month follow-up (Phase II; n=40). Data from Phases I and II will be used to modify and streamline the intervention prior to the RCT (Phase III).
AIM TWO: In an RCT (n=140), evaluate whether the prevention program impacts cognitive training and personalized feedback targets at 1-month follow-up, relative to services as usual (SAU). Cognitive training targets include (a) enhanced focus on women's affect; (b) reduced focus on women's non-affective cues; and (c) correction of over-perceptions of women's sexual interest. Personalized feedback targets include (a) increased readiness to change; (b) increased perceptions of risk; and (c) reduced misperceptions of peer attitudes and behaviors.
AIM THREE: Evaluate whether the prevention program shows short-term effects on attitudinal (e.g., rape supportive and sociosexual attitudes) and behavioral outcomes (SAB, HED, and RSB) at 1-month follow-up.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Active Comparator: Services As Usual Participants assigned to the SAU condition will receive services as usual at their university, which include required programming related to heavy episodic drinking and sexually aggressive behavior either online or through new-student orientation. |
Other: Services As Usual
These participants will receive services as usual
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| Experimental: Personalized Feedback and Cognitive Training The prevention program will target heavy episodic drinking, sexually aggressive behavior, and risky sexual behavior through 2 sessions that integrate personalized feedback and cognitive training components. |
Behavioral: Personalized Feedback
The personalized feedback consists of four components: normative feedback, risk/protective feedback, decisional balance/goal setting, and protective strategy review. Personalized feedback targets include readiness to change, perceptions of risk, and misperceptions of peer attitudes/behaviors.
Behavioral: Cognitive Skills Training
We will address three cognitive targets: focus on affective cues, focus on non-affective cues, and over-perception of sexual interest. The first module targets enhanced focus on women's affective cues and reduced over-perception of sexual interest. We will introduce the role of men's sexual-perception skills in satisfying social and sexual interactions with women, as well as problematic sexual behavior including RSB and SAB. Next, we will instruct participants that affective information is the best-available nonverbal information about how a woman is feeling about a specific man. This instruction will focus on distinguishing four primary dating relevant cues: sexual-interest, friendliness, sadness, and rejection. More detailed focus on each cue will emphasize the increased difficulty of reading these cues with a new partner and under the influence of alcohol and sexual arousal, as well as the importance of checking verbally on assumptions about a woman's current sexual interest.
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Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- The Illinois Rape Myth Assessment [One month]
The Illinois Rape Myth Assessment - Short Form (IRMA-SF) will assess rape supportive attitudes (Payne, Lonsway, & Fitzgerald, 1999). Maximum values are 1 and maximum 7. Higher scores indicate more supportive attitudes.
- Sociosexual Attitudes [One month]
Sociosexual attitudes will be assessed using 15 items from Bailey et al. (2000). This is not a validated scale but rather several items from past research. The scale ranges from 1 to 5, with higher scores being stronger attitudes.
- Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test [One month]
Heavy drinking will be assessed using the AUDIT. Specifically, one item asks about frequency of alcohol use, one item asks about frequency of binge drinking, and one item asks about quantity of alcohol use. Higher scores mean more drinking.
- Attraction To Sexual Aggression [One month]
Rape proclivity will be assessed using the Attraction to Sexual Aggression scale (Malamuth, 1989a; Malamuth, 1989b), where participants rate their likelihood of engaging in sexual aggresion from 0-100%. Higher percentage equals higher attraction to sexual aggression.
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Risky Sexual Behavior [One month]
Engagement in risky sexual behavior will be assessed using 8 items from Bailey et al. (2000). Similar to sociosexual attitudes, these are items from a past study. Responses range from 1 to 7, with higher values indicating more risky sexual behavior.
- Sexual Experience Survey [One month]
Will be assessed using a total of 21 items primarily based on the Sexual Experience Survey - Short Form Perpetrator (Koss et al., 2006a; Koss et al., 2006b; Koss et al., 2007). We will add all items together. Responses range from 1 to 4, with higher values indicating more sexual aggression.
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
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- be male college students aged 18-19 at ASU or Iowa;
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- report at least one binge-drinking episode in the last month;
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- be unmarried and not engaged to be married;
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- be heterosexual or bisexual;
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- be dating or sexually active with women; and
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- be above the mean in rape supportive attitudes relative to 3000 college males in prior studies conducted at the two sites.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Do not meet the inclusion criteria
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona State University | Tempe | Arizona | United States | 85287-1104 |
| 2 | University of Iowa | Iowa City | Iowa | United States | 52242 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- Arizona State University
- University of Iowa
- University of New Mexico
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: William Corbin, PhD, Arizona State University
- Study Chair: Teresa Treat, PhD, University of Iowa
- Study Chair: Katie Witkiewitz, PhD, University of New Mexico
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
- Babor, T. F., de la Fuente, J. R., Saunders, J., & Grant, M. (1992). AUDIT. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Guidelines for Use in Primary Health Care. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
- Bailey JM, Kirk KM, Zhu G, Dunne MP, Martin NG. Do individual differences in sociosexuality represent genetic or environmentally contingent strategies? Evidence from the Australian twin registry. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000 Mar;78(3):537-45.
- Bohner G, Siebler F, Schmelcher J. Social norms and the likelihood of raping: Perceived rape myth acceptance of others affects men's rape proclivity. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2006 Mar;32(3):286-97.
- Bohner, G., Reinhard, M.A., Rutz, S., Sturm, S., Kerschbaum, B., & Effler, D. (1998). Rape myths as neutralizing cognitions: Evidence for a causal impact of anti-victim attitudes on men's self-reported likelihood of raping. European Journal of Social Psychology, 28, 257-268.
- Kahler CW, Hustad J, Barnett NP, Strong DR, Borsari B. Validation of the 30-day version of the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire for use in longitudinal studies. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2008 Jul;69(4):611-5.
- Koss, M. P. Abbey, A., Campbell, R., Cook, S., Norris, J., Testa, M., Ullman, S., West, C., & White, J. (2006b). The Sexual Experiences Long Form Perpetration (SES-LFP). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona.
- Koss, M. P., Abbey, A., Campbell, R., Cook, S., Norris, J., Testa, M., Ullman, S., West, C., & White, J. (2006a). The Sexual Experiences Short Form Perpetration (SES-SFP). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona.
- Koss, M. P., Abbey, A., Campbell, R., Cook, S; Norris, J., Testa, C., Ullman, S., West, C., & White, J. (2007). Revising the SES: A collaborative process to improve assessment of sexual aggression and victimization. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31, 357-370
- Larimer ME, Cronce JM. Identification, prevention, and treatment revisited: individual-focused college drinking prevention strategies 1999-2006. Addict Behav. 2007 Nov;32(11):2439-68. Epub 2007 May 17. Review.
- Malamuth, N.M. (1989a). The attraction to sexual aggression scale: Part One. The Journal of Sex Research, 26, 26-49.
- Malamuth, N.M. (1989b). The attraction to sexual aggression scale: Part Two. The Journal of Sex Research, 26, 324-354
- Sobell, L. C., & Sobell, M. B. (1992). Timeline Follow-back: A technique for assessing self-reported ethanol consumption. In J. Allen & R. Z. Litten (Eds.), Measuring Alcohol Consumption: Psychosocial and Biological Methods (pp. 41-72). Totowa, NJ: Humana Press.
- Wood MD, Read JP, Palfai TP, Stevenson JF. Social influence processes and college student drinking: the mediational role of alcohol outcome expectancies. J Stud Alcohol. 2001 Jan;62(1):32-43.
- R34AA02771301A1