Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40080603›Full record

Trial reportJournal of consulting and clinical psychology2025

Efficacy of counter-attitudinal advocacy and personalized feedback for heavy-drinking college students.

Kate B Carey, Angelo M DiBello, Melissa R Hatch, Andrew P Weinstein, Clayton Neighbors

Abstract readRandomized Controlled TrialMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Expanding perspectives on reducing harms from drinking in college: A qualitative study.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Kate B CareyDepartment of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health.ORCID 0000-0001-7969-716X
Angelo M DiBelloCenter for Alcohol and Substance Use Studies, Rutgers University.
Melissa R HatchCenter for Alcohol and Substance Use Studies, Rutgers University.
Andrew P WeinsteinDepartment of Psychology, University of Houston.
Clayton NeighborsDepartment of Psychology, University of Houston.

Funding

Using Counter Attitudinal Advocacy to Change Drinking BehaviorR01AA025043 · NIAAA · BROWN UNIVERSITY · PI CAREY, KATE B, DIBELLO, ANGELO MICHAEL · 2018 to 2021
$1.9M
National Institutes of Health; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholismNIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA025043
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveYoung adults in college engage in risky drinking that results in alcohol-related harms. Most evidence-based prevention interventions recommended for this population rely on correcting exaggerated drinking norms via personalized normative feedback (PNF). Informed by an extensive literature linking alcohol attitudes and drinking behavior, we adapted a brief counter-attitudinal advocacy (CAA) task to the alcohol prevention context. The goal of this study is to evaluate the ability of CAA in changing drinking and related consequences and to explore the comparative efficacy of CAA versus PNF.

methodThis two-site randomized controlled trial had two experimental conditions (CAA and PNF) and an assessment-only control condition. Participants were 585 students who reported heavy episodic drinking and ≥ 2 alcohol-related negative consequences. Alcohol outcomes were assessed at 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-ups to test hypotheses that the CAA and PNF manipulations will decrease drinks per week, typical drinks per day, peak blood alcohol concentration, and alcohol consequences, relative to control.

resultsParticipants reported reductions in drinks per week, typical drinks, and alcohol consequences. Those who received PNF reported significantly fewer drinks per week than controls, whereas those who received CAA reported significantly fewer consequences than controls. The CAA and PNF conditions did not differ from one another.

conclusionsThis study demonstrates an application of attitude change theory and CAA methods to the alcohol prevention context, across demographically different settings. The novel CAA task had a harm reduction effect on consequences but not consumption. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Indexed as

Alcohol Drinking in CollegeBinge DrinkingFeedback, PsychologicalStudentsAdolescentAdultFemaleHumansMaleUniversitiesYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID40080603
PMCPMC12068971

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.