Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Heavy episodic drinking (HED) among college students is prevalent and contributes to alcohol-related problems. Personalized feedback interventions (PFIs), which includes provision of corrective normative feedback (PNF) is effective at reducing alcohol use and related problems among college students (Miller et al., 2013). However, college students endorse poor subjective sleep quality which is associated with increased alcohol use and related problems (DeMartini & Fucito, 2014). Yet, there is a lack of effective brief one-session web-based PFIs in which sleep and alcohol use are concurrently addressed among college students who drink heavily. The present study sought to examine the efficacy of a novel brief online PFI for sleep problems among college students who engage in HED. Undergraduate students who reported current (past-month) alcohol use and experiencing at least one past-month episode of HED, one alcohol related problem, and sleep problems were randomly assigned to receive PFI-Alcohol-Sleep (including content regarding PFI for insomnia and alcohol including PNF; n = 64), PFI-Alcohol (including PNF for alcohol use only; n = 66), or an assessment only control condition (n = 66). Condition was not related to follow-up alcohol (use frequency, use-related problems) or sleep (insomnia symptoms, sleep hygiene behaviors) outcomes. Time was related to both alcohol and sleep outcomes such that there were decreases in alcohol use, related-problems, insomnia symptoms, and sleep hygiene behaviors from baseline to one-month follow-up. Insomnia symptoms and sleep hygiene behaviors did not mediate the relationship between condition and follow-up alcohol use and related-problems. However, participants in the assessment only control condition endorsed greater follow-up alcohol use compared to the treatment conditions and baseline insomnia symptoms predicted follow-up alcohol related-problems (but not use) when accounting for the variance attributable to baseline negative affect and sex. Results may highlight the importance of incorporating sleep components within online alcohol PFIs for reducing heavy drinking and sleep problems among college students.
Date
6-6-2024
Recommended Citation
Abarno, Cristina, "A Novel Personalized Feedback Intervention for Sleep Problems among College Students Who Drink Heavily" (2024). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 6515.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/6515
Committee Chair
Copeland, Amy L.