{"id":490,"date":"2024-05-07T15:25:31","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T15:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niaaa.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=490"},"modified":"2024-05-07T15:25:31","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T15:25:31","slug":"digital-health-technology-shows-promise-for-efforts-to-address-drinking-among-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/niaaa\/490\/digital-health-technology-shows-promise-for-efforts-to-address-drinking-among-youth\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Health Technology Shows Promise for Efforts To Address Drinking Among Youth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Underage drinking and alcohol misuse by young adults are serious public health concerns in the United States. The 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that 15.1% of people ages 12 to 20 and 50.2% of people ages 18 to 25 reported drinking alcohol in the past month, with 8.2% of 12- to 20-year-olds and 29.5% of 18- to 25-year-olds reporting\u00a0binge drinking<\/a>\u00a0in the past month.1<\/a>,2<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Surveys also consistently find that young people are among the biggest users of the internet and mobile devices.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an urgent need for innovative interventions to prevent alcohol misuse among our nation\u2019s young people,\u201d said National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Director George F. Koob, Ph.D. \u201cInternet and mobile technologies have the potential to significantly expand our prevention efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

In December 2023, NIAAA held a webinar, \u201cHarnessing Technology and Social Media to Address Alcohol Misuse in Adolescents and Emerging Adults<\/a>,\u201d featuring NIAAA-supported research conducted by Maureen Walton, M.P.H., Ph.D., of the University of Michigan and Mai-Ly Steers, Ph.D., of Duquesne University.<\/p>\n

In her talk titled \u201cOptimizing Prevention of Alcohol Misuse and Violence Among Adolescents and Emerging Adults,\u201d Dr. Walton discussed the importance of early interventions and how strategies that address multiple factors simultaneously may be more effective in preventing alcohol misuse over time. She also emphasized the potential benefits of more selective alcohol prevention interventions for youth at risk for binge drinking, as opposed to universal interventions that are designed to reach a broader age group.<\/p>\n

Dr. Walton, Rebecca Cunningham, M.D., and colleagues previously developed\u00a0SafERteens<\/a>. SafERteens is a single-session, motivational interview-based intervention delivered by a therapist to youth ages 14 to 18 during an emergency department visit for a medical illness or injury. The researchers found that alcohol-related consequences and severe aggression were reduced in the year following the intervention.<\/p>\n

Dr. Walton\u2019s team has expanded SafERteens to include digital boosters such as telehealth sessions with a health coach and text messages to reduce violence and alcohol misuse. Preliminary data from a recent study show that participants who received SafERteens plus digital boosters reduced their alcohol consumption, their involvement with violence, and the consequences associated with alcohol use and violence over the course of the study.<\/p>\n

\u201cDigital technology is an exciting and feasible way to extend interventions and prevention to youth in real time in their daily lives,\u201d said Dr. Walton.<\/p>\n

In her talk, \u201cSocial Media Use – Friend or Foe? How It Has Been Problematic Yet Holds Promise for Addressing College Drinking,\u201d Dr. Steers discussed the relationship between social media and alcohol consumption, particularly among college students. Although much about social media\u2019s influence on alcohol use is unknown, research has consistently found a link between young people\u2019s exposure to alcohol-related social media posts and their alcohol consumption and related problems. Alcohol-related social media posts by young people have also been found to be robust predictors of alcohol consumption and problems.<\/p>\n

Dr. Steers and her colleagues are examining factors that influence young people\u2019s susceptibility to alcohol-related social media content and the individual differences that affect their drinking patterns. The researchers have found that some of the main reasons that college students who drink post alcohol-related content on social media are to obtain attention and approval from their peers and to convey status or popularity. In addition, exposure to other people\u2019s alcohol-related content may normalize drinking and portray it as socially rewarding, both of which can in turn influence a student\u2019s alcohol consumption.<\/p>\n

Although social media is linked to increased alcohol misuse, it also holds promise for addressing alcohol misuse among college students. Dr. Steers and her team are working to develop novel interventions targeting students ages 18 to 26 who drink excessively and who are also avid social media users. As a step toward a more standardized measure for research, her team created an alcohol-related content and drinking scale in which students use their alcohol-related posting behavior to recall their drinking retrospectively. The researchers are using this tool within the context of personalized normative feedback\u2212a brief intervention that corrects perceptions of normal behavior\u2212by giving people feedback on their self-reported drinking and their perceptions of how much they think their peers drink.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven that we know for sure that social media is a major source of social influence, future research should really try to leverage it as a tool to promote the reduction of drinking,\u201d said Dr. Steers.<\/p>\n

Dr. Koob added, \u201cDigital technology offers a path into people\u2019s daily lives and can reach people where they are and on their terms. Therefore, it provides opportunities to reach broader segments of society, from people who are reluctant to get help for an alcohol problem to youth who may be at risk for initiating or escalating alcohol use.\u201d<\/p>\n

NIAAA also supports a variety of other studies that are leveraging social media and other technologies to develop novel alcohol prevention and treatment interventions for youth. Such studies include:<\/p>\n