Instituto Superior de Saúde do Alto Ave, Póvoa de Lanhoso, Braga, Portugal.
PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e44120. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044120. Epub 2012 Sep 12.
Young people tend to over-estimate peer group drinking levels. Personalised normative feedback (PNF) aims to correct this misperception by providing information about personal drinking levels and patterns compared with norms in similar aged peer groups. PNF is intended to raise motivation for behaviour change and has been highlighted for alcohol misuse prevention by the British Government Behavioural Insight Team. The objective of the trial was to assess the effectiveness of PNF with college students for the prevention of alcohol misuse.
Solomon three-group randomised controlled trial. 1751 students, from 22 British Universities, allocated to a PNF group, a normal control group, or a delayed measurement control group to allow assessment of any measurement effects. PNF was provided by email. Participants completed online questionnaires at baseline, 6- and 12-months (only 12-months for the delayed measurement controls). Drinking behaviour measures were (i) alcohol disorders; (ii) frequency; (iii) typical quantity, (iv) weekly consumption; (v) alcohol-related problems; (vi) perceived drinking norms; and (vii) positive alcohol expectancies. Analyses focused on high-risk drinkers, as well as all students, because of research evidence for the prevention paradox in student drinkers.
Follow-up rates were low, with only 50% and 40% responding at 6- and 12-months, respectively, though comparable to similar European studies. We found no evidence for any systematic attrition bias. Overall, statistical analyses with the high risk sub-sample, and for all students, showed no significant effects of the intervention, at either time-point, in a completed case analysis and a multiple imputation analysis.
We found no evidence for the effectiveness of PNF for the prevention of alcohol misuse and alcohol-related problems in a UK student population.
Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN30784467.
年轻人往往高估同龄人饮酒水平。个性化规范反馈（PNF）旨在通过提供个人饮酒水平和模式与同龄人群体规范的信息来纠正这种误解。PNF旨在提高行为改变的动机，并被英国政府行为洞察小组强调用于预防酒精滥用。试验的目的是评估 PNF 对大学生预防酒精滥用的有效性。
所罗门三群组随机对照试验。来自英国 22 所大学的 1751 名学生被分配到 PNF 组、正常对照组或延迟测量对照组，以评估任何测量效果。PNF 通过电子邮件提供。参与者在基线、6 个月和 12 个月（仅对延迟测量对照组进行 12 个月）时完成在线问卷。饮酒行为测量包括：（i）酒精障碍；（ii）频率；（iii）典型数量；（iv）每周消耗量；（v）与酒精相关的问题；（vi）感知饮酒规范；和（vii）积极的酒精期望。分析侧重于高危饮酒者，以及所有学生，因为学生饮酒者中存在预防悖论的研究证据。
随访率较低，只有 50%和 40%分别在 6 个月和 12 个月时回复，但与类似的欧洲研究相当。我们没有发现任何系统性失访偏倚的证据。总体而言，对高危亚组和所有学生进行的统计分析表明，在完成案例分析和多重插补分析中，干预在两个时间点均无显著效果。
我们没有发现 PNF 对英国学生群体预防酒精滥用和与酒精相关问题的有效性证据。
controlled-trials.com ISRCTN30784467。
