# A randomized clinical trial: Examining a brief parent-intervention to reduce college student drinking and cannabis use

> **NIH NIH R01** · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE · 2024 · $617,489

## Abstract

Abstract
College students’ risky drinking and cannabis use are major public health problems. Almost 80% of college
students report consuming alcohol in the past year and more than 1 in 3 report heavy episodic drinking in the
past month. Reports also show that college is a high-risk window for cannabis use. This is highly concerning
considering that the potency of present-day cannabis has markedly increased, cannabis use and
consequences have also risen, and availability continues to grow due to increased legalization across the U.S.
Further, a number of studies have shown an increase in co-use of alcohol and cannabis (use of both
substances in the same day), which results in significantly more problems compared to either alcohol-only or
cannabis-only use. Our brief parent-based intervention for college students has shown efficacy in reducing
risky drinking, but it does not currently have content to address cannabis use or co-use of alcohol and
cannabis. Our review of the literature and research in progress reveals there are no studies examining the
efficacy of parent interventions to reduce cannabis use in this age group. The proposed research will address
this omission, curb the problematic trends noted above, and move the field forward by testing a modified
version of our parent-intervention that includes content for parents to have broader discussions about alcohol
and cannabis use (referred to as e-PBI+). To assess interest in the college-level cannabis parent-intervention
materials, we conducted a pilot survey of 40 college health administrators and all 40 indicated that they have a
need for and would implement a parent-intervention that included content on cannabis (see letters of support).
We then conducted a pilot RCT study on the e-PBI+ (versus a control condition) and observed preliminary
evidence that parents found the e-PBI+’s additional cannabis content interesting and useful, conversations with
their students were well received, and more importantly, students were less likely to engage in cannabis use
post-intervention. Taken together, these data provide support for further examination of the e-PBI+. Our
proposed study will use a rigorous RCT design to examine: 1) The efficacy of the e-PBI+ at 3, 6, 9, and 12
months post-baseline relative to an active comparison condition (our evidence-based parent intervention, the
e-PBI), and an attention-matched-control condition (e-AC), on reducing alcohol and cannabis use and
consequences (efficacy; Aim 1); 2) Examine the process by which the e-PBI+ influences parents’ and college
students’ behaviors (mediation; Aim 2); and 3) Examine subgroups for whom the e-PBI+ is more versus less
effective (moderation; Aim 3). To the extent that the research is successful, it will provide an easy to implement
and low-cost parent-intervention that provides new cannabis content for parents to have discussions with their
college-bound teens about alcohol and cannabis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10911890
- **Project number:** 5R01AA030262-03
- **Recipient organization:** PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert J Turrisi
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $617,489
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-15 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10911890

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10911890, A randomized clinical trial: Examining a brief parent-intervention to reduce college student drinking and cannabis use (5R01AA030262-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10911890. Licensed CC0.

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