ALCOhol use, Norms, Identities and Motivations-based (ALCONIM) prevention program for binge drinking among college students: a study protocol for a parallel-group randomized controlled trial

Background Binge drinking (BD) refers to repeated switches between intense and short intoxication as well as periods of abstinence. Subjective norms, drinking identity and social and enhancement motives are found to be the most dominant determinants of BD in college students. Targeting these psychosocial factors could be of public health interest in this population, in which up to one out of five students would practice BD. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the efficacy of brief BD determinants-focused procedures, namely, hypocrisy induction (HI), social identity mapping (SIM) and motivational modeling (MM) as add-on interventions to motivational interviewing (MI), compared to MI alone, in preventing BD in college students. Methods : Two hundred and forty healthy college students (University of Caen Normandy, France) will be randomized in one of three one-meeting intervention experimental arms ( i.e. , MI combined with HI, SIM or MM) or in one control arm ( i.e. , MI alone). BD scores will be collected through ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and will be used to assess the primary outcome, i.e. , the decrease of self-reported BD intensity at one-month post-intervention. Secondary endpoints include self-reported alcohol drinking norms, identity, motives, frequency and craving, as well as readiness to change one’s alcohol-related behaviors. Assessments are scheduled at pre-intervention as well as at one and six-month follow-up. Discussion : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the complementary interest of HI, SIM or MM-based intervention combined with MI in an innovative prevention program aiming to target BD specific determinants and subsequently lower BD in college students. Trial registration : NCT06447350 [clinicaltrials.gov; URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06447350]. Retrospectively registered on June 3rd, 2024.