| The current study's purpose was to enable health educators to understand the effects of personalized feedback and health communication on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related behaviors of college students. Identifying effective interventions for this population has been a challenge. Research shows that tailored interventions can be effective in behavior change and brief feedback may lead to decreases in alcohol consumption. More research is needed on the impact of feedback followed by health communication on alcohol use of college students.; Students attending Health, Sport and Exercise Science classes at a mid-western university were surveyed about their alcohol-related behaviors. A total of 131 participants were selected to participate in the 6 week study and were randomly assigned to the experimental group (intervention) or control group (no intervention). The intervention included personalized feedback delivered via e-mail with information about drinking behaviors and risks. Participants also received two health communication messages weekly for 6 weeks via e-mail. The control group received biweekly e-mail messages containing a one-sentence alcohol fact. After the 6 week period, subjects received an e-mail with the posttest attached.; A 2 (groups) by 2 (pre/post) mixed design repeated measures ANOVA was conducted for each dependent variable. It was hypothesized that personalized feedback and health communication would decrease alcohol consumption, alcohol-related behaviors, and lead to a change in personal attitude toward alcohol use. A significant group x time interaction for number of typical drinks consumed at one 2 setting was found [F(1,73) = 5.042, p = .028, partial eta2 = .065]. Initial mean differences between groups were identified at baseline, with the experimental group reporting greater number of typical drinks than the control group. In addition, follow up paired sample t-test showed a significant effect of time on the Control group, which may have influenced the interaction found. No other significant interactions were found for the remaining five dependent measures. Overall, the results of this study did not support the use of personalized feedback followed by a series of health communication messages to decrease alcohol consumption among heavy drinking college students. |
