Web-based intervention for young adults experiencing anxiety and hazardous alcohol use: Study protocol for an...

Alcohol use and anxiety often co-occur, causing increased severity impairment. This protocol describes a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that aims to test the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a web-based, self-guided alcohol and anxiety-focused program, compared with a web-based brief alcohol-focused program, for young adults who drink at hazardous levels and experience anxiety. It will also test moderators and mechanisms of change underlying the intervention effects.

This RCT will be conducted with a 1:1 parallel group.

The study will be a web-based trial in Australia.

Individuals aged 17-30 years who drink alcohol at hazardous or greater levels and experience at least mild anxiety (n = 500) will be recruited through social media, media (TV, print) and community networks.

Participants will be randomly allocated to receive a web-based, integrated alcohol-anxiety program plus technical and motivational telephone/e-mail support (intervention) or a web-based brief alcohol-feedback program (control).

Clinical measures will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention (2 months), 6 months (primary end-point), 12 months and 18 months. Co-primary outcomes are hazardous alcohol consumption and anxiety symptom severity. Secondary outcomes are binge-drinking frequency; alcohol-related consequences; depression symptoms; clinical diagnoses of alcohol use or anxiety disorder (at 6 months post-intervention), health-care service use, educational and employment outcomes; and quality of life. Mediators and moderators will also be assessed. Efficacy will be tested using mixed models for repeated measures within an intention-to-treat framework. The economic evaluation will analyze individual-level health and societal costs and outcomes of participants between each trial arm, while mediation models will test for mechanisms of change.

This will be the first trial to test whether a developmentally targeted, web-based, integrated alcohol-anxiety intervention is effective in reducing hazardous alcohol use and anxiety severity among young adults. If successful, the integrated alcohol-anxiety program will provide an accessible intervention that can be widely disseminated to improve wellbeing of young adults, at minimal cost.