# Reducing Hazardous Alcohol Use in Social Networks using Targeted Intervention

> **NIH NIH R01** · BROWN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $664,470

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
This application is a renewal for R01AA023522. The aims of the first cycle of funding were to evaluate the
indirect effect of a Brief Motivational Intervention (BMI) for hazardous alcohol use among college students in a
complete social network. We enrolled 90% (N = 1489) of the first-year class at one university, with follow-up
rates of 98% and 96% at 5 and 12 months. All goals of the study were met, including establishing that heavy
drinkers targeted for intervention because they are optimally connected to other heavy drinkers are responsive
to a BMI (compared to Natural History Controls; NHC), and that group differences (BMI vs. NHC) are
detectable among heavy drinkers who received no intervention, supporting the concept of an indirect
intervention effect. Consistent with the social network literature that theorizes that changes in behavior among
individuals can be transmitted to others, the purpose of this renewal study is to evaluate whether indirect
intervention effects can be detected in older students at a time when friendships are established, most
students are of legal drinking age, and most live off campus where alcohol-related risks are highest. In the later
college years, emerging adults also progress through transitions in academic, vocational, and psychosocial
areas. We will enroll a new class year (anticipated N = 1310), and use a two-group design in which heavy
drinking clusters of students are randomly assigned to either BMI or NHC. A network node selection algorithm
created in the current study will identify the most influential members of each cluster comprising 25% of heavy
drinkers overall, N = 75 per group. In the BMI group these network members will receive a BMI in the spring of
their junior year plus updated personalized feedback as a booster in the fall of their senior year, intended to
address risks when a large percent of students move off campus; those selected in NHC will receive no
contact. All participants in the network will be followed through their senior year and in the fall after graduation.
Our aims are to (1) investigate the indirect effects of this intervention, that is, determine whether close friends
of the heavy drinkers who receive the intervention benefit from it as well, (2) identify the social influence
mechanisms through which the intervention recipients affect other heavy drinkers, (3) identify the network and
relationship conditions under which the intervention is the most effective, and (4) determine whether the
intervention, associated changes in alcohol use, and network factors influence developmental transitions
critical for young adults. This renewal will capitalize on longitudinal assessment of the social network
connections, associated peer interactions, and individual network members' substance use as they evolve
from the mid-college to beyond graduation. Having data on alcohol involvement and network ties provides an
unparalleled opportunity to identify how risk factors are trans...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9977064
- **Project number:** 5R01AA023522-06
- **Recipient organization:** BROWN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** NANCY P BARNETT
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $664,470
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2015-08-10 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9977064

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9977064, Reducing Hazardous Alcohol Use in Social Networks using Targeted Intervention (5R01AA023522-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9977064. Licensed CC0.

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