Alcohol Drinking Clinical Trials

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of two programs to prevent/reduce alcohol misuse among youth primary care patients. Depending on their study condition, youth will receive a brief web-based computer program or the web program + 8 weeks of supportive text messages. Parents/caregivers of youth are encouraged to use a freely available app to guide conversations with their child about drinking. This study will have significant impact by evaluating response to these scalable interventions which can be deployed widely in clinical care settings. Read Less

The goal of this study is to find the most effective and efficient version of the THRIVE app. The THRIVE app is the first app-based preventative intervention that has been found to reduce alcohol misuse and posttraumatic stress in people who have recently experienced sexual assault. In this trial, participants are randomly assigned to receive different versions of the THRIVE app to compare their impact. The THRIVE app is currently only available to participants in this study. Read Less

HIV transmission remains a significant public health concern, especially among men who have sex with men (MSM). Condomless anal intercourse (CAI) continues to be the major route of transmission for MSM. Thus, to reduce the incidence of HIV, it is critical to identify how contextual risk factors influence CAI and develop behavioral strategies that modify risk factors directly or reduce their influence on behavior. This study will examine the mechanisms through which one of the central contextual risk factors, heavy drinking, influences sexual decision processes in the natural environment and test the benefit of a brief intervention designed to reduce sexual risk behavior among those who engage in heavy drinking. Read Less

This pilot study will determine the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of Strengths-based Linkage to Alcohol Care (SLAC; a behavioral intervention) to link Veterans, identified as hazardous drinkers in VHA primary care, to alcohol care. Participants screening positive in VA primary care for hazardous drinking and posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and/or depression in the past year will be recruited. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two study conditions - SLAC plus usual care or usual care only. The investigators will determine the feasibility of conducting a larger scale study to evaluate SLAC in primary care and SLAC's acceptability among key stakeholders (e.g., Veterans, primary care providers). Other outcomes will include exploring whether SLAC improves linkage to an alcohol care or help option and/or reduces alcohol use and mental health (PTSD, depression) symptoms. Read Less

Alcohol consumption is a critical factor in HIV treatment that significantly contributes to poor treatment-related outcomes. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of alcohol interventions for people with HIV (PWH) have had limited success, perhaps due to an increasingly recognized co-morbitity of co-occurring hazardous alcohol use and other mental health-related problems among PWH. This has necessitated a shift in the literature towards trans-diagnostic approaches that target core psychological processes that underlie multiple mental health-related problems. One trans-diagnostic mechanism that is relevant to alcohol and other substance use is experiential avoidance (EA)- i.e., repeated, and maladaptive, use of substances and/or other behaviors to escape or avoid unwanted thoughts, feelings, and/or urges. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) targets EA and is an empirically supported treatment for multiple psychological and behavioral health-related outcomes; however there have not been any full-scale RCTs of ACT for alcohol use among any population, including PWH. The investigators recently adapted a telephone-delivered ACT intervention originally developed for smoking cessation, into an intervention for PWH who drink at unhealthy levels (NIH/NIAAA; R34AA026246). This six-session, telephone-delivered ACT intervention for alcohol use showed high feasibility and acceptability in a pilot RCT conducted by our team. The overall objective of this application is therefore to determine if ACT can significantly reduce alcohol use and comorbid symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among adult PWH who drink at unhealthy levels. The specific aims are: To determine the relative efficacy of ACT, compared to BI, for reducing alcohol use among PWH (Aim 1) and to determine if ACT has an effect on trans-diagnostic processes that in turn affect alcohol use and other psychological and functional outcomes (Aim 2). The investigators will accomplish these aims by: conducting a remote, RCT in which the investigators randomly assign 300 PWH who drink at unhealthy levels to either the ACT intervention the investigators developed (n = 150), or a BI intervention (n = 150) previously shown to reduce alcohol use among PWH. The investigators will assess alcohol-related outcomes-via self-report and a biomarker- at baseline, post-treatment (7 weeks post-baseline), and again 3-, 6-, and 12-months post-randomization. The investigators will also measure EA to determine if it mediates treatment effects for alcohol use and other psychological and functional outcomes, measured at all timepoints. Read Less

Over one-quarter of American adults engage in hazardous drinking (i.e., a pattern of alcohol consumption that increases risk for harmful consequences), which is the third leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. Rates of hazardous drinking are significantly higher among individuals with (vs. without) chronic pain. Moreover, 20% of individuals prescribed opioids endorse concurrent alcohol and opioid use, which may interfere with chronic pain treatment and lead to dangerous/potentially fatal health effects. No interventions to date have targeted either hazardous drinking or concurrent use of alcohol and opioids in the context of chronic pain. The current four-year R01 builds upon our past work by developing a brief, single-session, computer-based, personalized feedback intervention (PFI) designed to enhance knowledge regarding adverse pain-alcohol-opioid interrelations, increase motivation and intention to reduce hazardous drinking, and reduce positive attitudes and intention regarding concurrent use of alcohol and prescription opioid medications. Specifically, we will develop an integrated PFI for hazardous drinkers with chronic pain who are prescribed opioids (PA-PFI). Our approach will follow a staged model consistent with NIH guidelines for developing and standardizing behavioral interventions. Phase IA activities will involve collecting qualitative and quantitative feedback from three iterative focus groups (N = 21) to refine intervention content and evaluate treatment acceptability and feasibility. Phase IB activities will include a proof-of-concept and highly rigorous randomized clinical trial designed to compare PA-PFI to control PFI (C-PFI) among a sample of 174 hazardous drinkers with chronic pain who are currently prescribed opioid medications. This study represents an important and pivotal step in the larger landscape of translating basic research to more efficacious strategies for reducing hazardous drinking among underserved populations with medical comorbidities. This intervention would be highly disseminable and relevant to millions of hazardous drinkers with chronic pain. Given the collective public health impact of chronic pain, hazardous drinking, and concurrent alcohol-prescription opioid use, we believe the current study will yield findings that enhance scientific knowledge, enhance our understanding of mechanisms in reciprocal pain-alcohol-opioid relations, and inform the development of novel treatments for hazardous drinkers with chronic pain that are adaptable and easily implemented across a variety of healthcare settings. Read Less

The focus of this pilot will be on falls and neurocognitive symptoms, and the impact of alcohol, cannabis use, and medications on these outcomes. The rationale is that alcohol use at any level may interact with neurocognitively active medications, alcohol, and cannabis use leading to falls and impaired cognition. Read Less

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the impact of providing participants with 1. A recently developed protocol for motivating bystanders to intervene to help others who are in sexual risk situations (Motivate-the-Bystander) alone 2. Motivate-the-Bystander with an alcohol component focused on reducing drinking behaviors (Motivate-the-Bystander+Alcohol) 3. A control condition focused on reducing stress The main questions it aims to answer are: * Is Motivate-the-Bystander more effective than the attention control for increasing bystander behaviors? * Is Motivate-the-Bystander+Alcohol more effective than MTB alone for increasing bystander behaviors? * Is Motivate-the-Bystander+Alcohol more effective than Motivate-the-Bystander alone for decreasing alcohol use during bystander intervention opportunities? Participants will: * Complete online measures (e.g., self-reported bystander behaviors, past bystander training, history of bystander intervention attempts, sexual experiences, drinking behaviors, and other substance use behaviors) * Complete either MTB, MTB+ALC, or the attention control condition online * Complete the virtual reality simulation in the lab * Complete electronic daily diary follow-up surveys about alcohol use and bystander intervention Read Less

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about an online group program (Healthy Families Bright Futures program) for LGBTQ+ teens and their caregivers. The main question\[s\] it aims to answer are: • is this program acceptable, appropriate, and feasible for LGBTQ+ youth and their caregivers • does the program affect teen (alcohol use, dating violence, alcohol use refusal self-efficacy, healthy communication self-efficacy) and caregiver (accepting behaviors, parenting self-efficacy, parenting behaviors) outcomes associated with risk for dating violence and alcohol use among LGBTQ+ teens. Participants will participate in a one-hour weekly online group for seven weeks with separate groups for teens and caregivers. Read Less

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) affect up to 60% of individuals with bipolar disorder during their lifetime and is associated with worse illness outcomes, yet few studies have been performed to clarify the causes of this comorbidity. Understanding biological risk factors that associate with and predict the development of AUDs in bipolar disorder could inform interventions and prevention efforts to reduce the rate of this comorbidity and improve outcomes of both disorders. Identifying predictors of risk requires longitudinal studies in bipolar disorder aimed at capturing the mechanisms leading to the emergence of AUDs. Previous work in AUDs suggest that subjective responses to alcohol and stress-related mechanisms may contribute to the development of AUDs. In bipolar disorder, altered developmental trajectory of critical ventral prefrontal networks that modulate mood and reward processing may alter responses to alcohol and stressors; consequently, the disruption in typical neurodevelopment may be an underlying factor for the high rates of comorbidity. No longitudinal data exist investigating if this developmental hypothesis is correct. To address this gap, the investigators will use a multimodal neuroimaging approach, modeling structural and functional neural trajectories of corticolimbic networks over young adulthood, incorporating alcohol administration procedures, clinical phenotyping, and investigating effects of acute stress exposure and early life stress. Research aims are to identify biological risk factors-i.e., changes in subjective response to alcohol and associated neural trajectories-that are associated with the development of alcohol misuse and symptoms of AUDs over a two-year longitudinal period in young adults with bipolar disorder and typical developing young adults. Longitudinal data will be collected on 160 young adults (50% with bipolar disorder, 50% female; aged 21-26). This study is a natural extension of the PI's K01 award. How acute exposure to stress and childhood maltreatment affects subjective response to alcohol and risk for prospective alcohol misuse and symptoms of AUDs will be investigated. The investigators will test our hypothesis that developmental differences in bipolar disorder versus typical developing individuals disrupt corticolimbic networks during young adulthood, increase sensitivity to stress, and lead to changes in subjective response to alcohol and placebo response increasing risk for developing AUDs. Read Less

This study has two phases: Phase 1 is to examine blood pressure, microvascular function, and sympathetic nerve activity in mid-life adult binge drinkers vs. alcohol abstainers/moderate drinkers. Phase 2 is to examine the effect of 8-week aerobic exercise training on blood pressure, microvascular function, and sympathetic nerve activity in mid-life adult binge drinkers Read Less

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effectiveness of our brief online program when compared to those who don't complete the program at all. Read Less