Does self-affirmation augment the effects of a mandated personalized feedback intervention? A randomized controlled trial with heavy drinking college students.

Abstract

Objective: Theory and evidence indicate that affirming the value of the self before exposure to a threatening message fosters more open-minded appraisal of message content. We predicted that college students mandated to a computer-delivered personalized feedback intervention (PFI) and who engaged in a self-affirmation (SA) exercise would demonstrate reduce drinking and consequences relative to those who received an attention control.

Method: Participants were 484 undergraduates (age 18-24, 56% male, 78% White) mandated to participate in an alcohol intervention following a first-time alcohol policy violation. After a baseline assessment, each was randomized to SA (n = 256) or attention control (n = 227) prior to a computer-delivered PFI intervention. Posttest measures included an affirmation manipulation check; primary outcomes (past month weekly quantity, peak drinks, binge frequency, consequences) were assessed at 1-, 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-ups. We used latent growth curve modeling to test study hypotheses.

Results: The SA exercise increased positive self-evaluation at posttest (p < .001). Overall reductions in drinking and consequences were observed at early follow-up (all p < .05), but the SA manipulation was not associated with intercept or slope factor differences in the models. Engaging in assessments during COVID restrictions was generally associated with reduced drinking and consequences.

Conclusions: The SA exercise did not differentially affect trajectories of alcohol use and consequences, despite evidence that the exercise had the predicted effect on participant's self-evaluations. The lack of SA effects could be attributed to a nonthreatening PFI intervention that is generally accepted among mandated students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).