Episodic Future Thinking as a Brief Alcohol Intervention for Heavy Drinking College Students: A Pilot Feasibility Study

Public Health Significance The current study provides initial support for the feasibility and acceptability of an academic goal-relevant episodic future thinking intervention. Future research should further examine the potential efficacy of episodic future thinking as either a stand-alone intervention or as an element of a more comprehensive brief alcohol intervention approach. Episodic future thinking (EFT), an exercise that involves cognitive simulation of future events, has demonstrated proximal effects on alcohol demand and delayed reward discounting (DRD). However, few studies have investigated EFT's potential to reduce alcohol use and increase positive behaviors outside of the laboratory. This study is the first to pilot an academic goal-relevant EFT (A-EFT) intervention for heavy drinking college students. The primary goals were to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of A-EFT in this population. A secondary goal was to evaluate between- and within-condition changes from baseline to post-intervention and 1-month assessments. Participants were 45 undergraduates (73% women, 53% White, 27% Black) who reported at least two past-month heavy drinking episodes (4/5 drinks for women/men). Participants were randomized to a brief in-person A-EFT intervention or to a vivid memory task (VMT) control. In support of feasibility and acceptability, recruitment and retention rates were over 80% and participants rated the A-EFT intervention as enjoyable, personally relevant, and interesting. In support of initial efficacy, participants assigned to A-EFT increased the amount of time spent studying compared to controls (d = 1.16) at 1-month assessment. Participants in the A-EFT group reported moderate effect size reductions in alcohol consumption, and a similar size increase in protective drinking strategies. Demand intensity decreased moderately at post-intervention for participants in the A-EFT condition but there was little change in DRD. The current study provides support for the feasibility and acceptability of an academic goal-relevant EFT intervention and for further research to establish treatment efficacy.

Automated summary

The current study supports the feasibility and acceptability of an academic goal-relevant episodic future thinking intervention, indicating potential for further research to establish treatment efficacy.