Enrollment and Assessment of a First-Year College Class Social Network for a Controlled Trial of the Indirect Effect of a Brief Motivational Intervention

Authors

Nancy P. Barnett, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies
Melissa A. Clark, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Shannon R. Kenney, Butler Hospital
Graham DiGuiseppi, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies
Matthew K. Meisel, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies
Sara Balestrieri, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies
Miles Q. Ott, Smith CollegeFollow
John Light, Oregon Research Institute

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2019

Publication Title

Contemporary Clinical Trials

Volume

76

Abstract

Heavy drinking and its consequences among college students represent a serious public health problem, and peer social networks are a robust predictor of drinking-related risk behaviors. In a recent trial, we administered a Brief Motivational Intervention (BMI) to a small number of first-year college students to assess the indirect effects of the intervention on peers not receiving the intervention. Objectives: To present the research design, describe the methods used to successfully enroll a high proportion of a first-year college class network, and document participant characteristics. Methods: Prior to study enrollment, we consulted with a student advisory group and campus stakeholders to aid in the development of study-related procedures. Enrollment and baseline procedures were completed in the first six weeks of the academic semester. Surveys assessed demographics, alcohol use, and social network ties. Individuals were assigned to a BMI or control group according to their dormitory location. Results: The majority of incoming first-year students (1342/1660; 81%) were enrolled (55% female, 52% nonwhite, mean age 18.6 [SD = 0.51]). Differences between the intervention and control group were noted in alcohol use, but were in large part a function of there being more substance-free dormitory floors in the control group. Conclusions: The current study was successful in enrolling a large proportion of a first-year college class and can serve as a template for social network investigations.

Comments

Peer reviewed accepted manuscript.

First Page

16

Last Page

23

Recommended Citation

Barnett, Nancy P.; Clark, Melissa A.; Kenney, Shannon R.; DiGuiseppi, Graham; Meisel, Matthew K.; Balestrieri, Sara; Ott, Miles Q.; and Light, John, "Enrollment and Assessment of a First-Year College Class Social Network for a Controlled Trial of the Indirect Effect of a Brief Motivational Intervention" (2019). Statistical and Data Sciences: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/sds_facpubs/26

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1016/j.cct.2018.10.015

Rights

Licensed to Smith College and distributed CC-BY under the Smith College Faculty Open Access Policy.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.