Changing university students’ alcohol use with a web-based intervention: evidence from a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Aim This study evaluated the impact of a web-based nudging intervention aimed at reducing alcohol consumption among Danish university bachelor and master students. Methods To evaluate the impact of the intervention, we conducted a clustered randomized controlled experiment among 961 university students. The intervention combined a survey on self-affirmation to reduce defensive progression with information on key beliefs about binge drinking and tools to avoid excessive drinking. We measured the impact of the intervention on outcomes using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scale capturing key aspects of youth drinking. Results Compared to the students in the control group, the students in the intervention group had a 20% reduction on number of episodes per month with alcohol intake. We find no effect on binge drinking or measures of harmful alcohol consumption. Conclusions Our study shows that it is possible to change young people’s alcohol consumption through a relatively cost-effective web-based intervention based on the theory of planned behavior. Clinical trial registration The trial was registered at the American Economic Association’s registry for randomized trials with RCT ID: AEARCTR-0004703. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/4703