# Increasing Availability of and Engagement In Alcohol-Free Social Activities to Address Heavy Episodic Drinking and Alcohol Consequences Among Fraternity and Sorority College Students

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2024 · $188,892

## Abstract

Project Summary
The negative impact of heavy episodic drinking (HED) among college students continues to be a major public
health issue, and students who are members of fraternities and sororities (Greek members) are at particularly
greater risk for experiencing negative alcohol consequences due to frequent HED. Individual-level alcohol
interventions have limited efficacy among Greek members, which may be because these approaches do not
directly account for the greater social ecological and developmental factors which play a significant role in
drinking behavior. Young adulthood is marked by an emphasis on developing and maintaining social bonds,
and alcohol use is an integral part of social interactions in the Greek environment. This study integrates
developmental and behavioral economic models of alcohol use to develop and test an environmental
intervention addressing HED and alcohol consequences. The intervention focuses on increasing the availability
of and engagement in rewarding alcohol-free social activities, providing alternatives to drinking events for
building social connections. Human-centered design principles will incorporate the perspectives of Greek
members in the intervention development process to increase usability and contextual fit. This innovative study
will proceed in three phases following the Discover, Design/Build, Test framework. Discover Phase: Greek
members' perspectives and needs on social activity engagement will be identified by conducting qualitative
interviews (N = 30) and a quantitative survey (N = 925) to better understand the intervention setting and the
context of social activity engagement in the Greek community. Design/Build Phase: The intervention will be
developed and refined in collaboration with Greek members involving co-creation sessions and iterative
feasibility and acceptability testing. Test Phase: Feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and the impact
of the intervention on alcohol outcomes will be evaluated using a pre-post design with two cohorts of six
chapters over two years. This Career Development Award will support the investigator's development as an
independent researcher focusing on the development of alcohol interventions addressing reward processes
among young adults who engage in high-risk alcohol use. The investigator's long-term career goals will be
achieved through training in 1) developmental and reinforcement-based models of young adult high-risk
alcohol use, 2) research methods for measuring and increasing substance-free reinforcement, 3) developing
collaborative relationships with community partners, and 4) research approaches that emphasize acceptability,
effectiveness, and potential for successful implementation. Dr. Lehinger's career goals and project are
consistent with NIAAA's prevention goals of a) developing and evaluating strategies to prevent and reduce
alcohol misuse among young adults and b) evaluating the effectiveness and implementation of environmental
in...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11031577
- **Project number:** 1K23AA032019-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Elizabeth Lehinger
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $188,892
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-20 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11031577

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11031577, Increasing Availability of and Engagement In Alcohol-Free Social Activities to Address Heavy Episodic Drinking and Alcohol Consequences Among Fraternity and Sorority College Students (1K23AA032019-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11031577. Licensed CC0.

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