Recruiting

BASICS

Sponsor:

University of Southern California

Code:

NCT06774300

Conditions

Alcohol Consumption

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 26

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

BASICS

Online alcohol programming

Study Details

Brief summary:

This research study will test the efficacy of a telehealth version of the Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS), which is the gold standard prevention and intervention approach to target heavy alcohol use on college campuses across the United States.

Conditions

Alcohol Consumption

Study ID

NCT06774300

Start date

Sep 1, 2025

Status verified date

Jun, 2026

Completion date

Jul 31, 2030

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2029

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 26

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • between 18 and 26 years of age
  • fluent in understanding English
  • a registered student at one of the two intervention sites
  • adequate internet capabilities to support video-conferencing
  • access to a webcam, which is a standard features of most laptops, mobile devices, and desktops
  • engage in binge drinking (i.e., 4 or more standard drinks in a sitting for women or 5 or more standard drinks in a sitting for men) at least once in the past month (for the volunteer sample only)
  • experienced at least one negative alcohol-related consequence in the previous month (mandated students would meet this due to receiving an alcohol sanction)
  • reports a score of 2 or higher on questions about a) interest in reducing their drinking, or b) interest in not increasing their drinking.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • not meeting inclusion criteria or unwillingness to participate

Study Design

Enrollment

600 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: In-person BASICS

This intervention conditions consist of a feedback interview with a trained facilitator. The feedback interview is a one-hour intervention based on the information provided during the baseline assessment. The content and process of the interview will be similar to methods developed and tested by Marlatt and colleagues and described in detail in the BASICS manual. Trained facilitators will meet individually with the students in-person and provide concrete personalized feedback regarding the following BASICS content: drinking patterns, drinking norms, risks, beliefs about alcohol and its effects, and protective behavioral strategies

experimental: Tele-BASICS

This intervention conditions consist of a feedback interview with a trained facilitator just like in the in-person BASICS condition. However, the feedback interview will be conducted over Zoom. Trained facilitators will meet individually with the students using video conferencing software and provide concrete personalized feedback regarding the following BASICS content: drinking patterns, drinking norms, risks, beliefs about alcohol and its effects, and protective behavioral strategies

active comparator: Treatment as usual

The control group for this study will receive the universities' online program that is typically given to students as a first line sanction. The program is informed by BASICS, but includes no facilitator, either in-person or online. It is primarily text-based with some graphics. It contains alcohol information (physiological reactions at specific blood alcohol levels, safe drinking tips, signs of alcohol poisoning), descriptions of alcohol laws and policies (on campus, minor in possession laws), campus and national resources (e.g., contact information for crisis hotlines and student counseling center), and personalized feedback (e.g., number of calories consumed via alcoholic drinks, money spent on alcohol).

Interventions

BASICS

The intervention is the BASICS protocol outlined in the BASICS manual. It includes an online self-administered assessment and then delivery of a feedback session either in-person or over Zoom.

Online alcohol programming

This is a control intervention that is used as the first-line sanction for students at the two universities. It is an online program, informed by BASICS content, but contains no facilitator and is self-directed.

Primary outcome measure

  • Alcohol use [ Time Frame: Assessed over the course of 12 months ]
  • Alcohol-related consequences [ Time Frame: Assessed over the course of 12 months ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Eric R Pedersen, Ph.D.

323-442-4046Eric.Pedersen@med.usc.edu

Locations

University of Houston

Recruiting

Houston, Texas, United States, 77204

Contacts

Clayton Neighbors, Ph.D.

713-743-2255cneighbo@central.uh.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of Southern California

Last update posted

Jun 17, 2026

Last verified

Jun, 2026

Keywords

  • alcohol
  • drinking
  • brief intervention
  • teleheath

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Southern California on 2026-06-17.