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Program Reviews

What Do You Drink

Overview

What Do You Drink is a web-based intervention for adolescents and young adults who binge drink.

This intervention is comprised of one brief session targeting heavy drinking behaviors. Users first complete a screening questionnaire about alcohol use and are provided with personalized normative feedback. The second part of the intervention involves setting goals about alcohol use and strengthening users’ drinking refusal self-efficacy. Through education and feedback, What Do You Drink also increases awareness of alcohol-related consequences and risks.

Delivery:
Web-based

Theoretical Approaches:
Motivational Interviewing (MI)

Target Substance(s):
Alcohol

Target Outcome(s):
Frequency
Quantity
Self-Efficacy

Ages:
Adolescents (11-17)
Young Adults (18-30)

Genders:
Male
Female

Races/Ethnicities:
Unspecified

Setting:
Remote Access

Geographic Location:
Unspecified

Country:
Netherlands

Language:
Dutch

Evaluations

  • Effectiveness of a web-based brief alcohol intervention and added value of normative feedback in reducing underage drinking: A randomized controlled trial.

    Spijkerman R, Roek MA, Vermulst A, Lemmers L, Huiberts A, Engels RC. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2010. 12(5): e65. PMCID: PMC3057308.

    Summary: In this randomized controlled trial of What Do You Drink (WDYD), the authors recruited adolescents online. Five-hundred seventy-five adolescents who screened positive for monthly binge drinking were randomized to one of three conditions: 1) WDYD; 2) WDYD plus normative feedback; 3) a no intervention control. Alcohol use was assessed during the initial screening, and at 1-month and 3-month follow-up assessments. At baseline, participants consumed an average of 14.7 drinks per week. Compared to the control group, both intervention groups had significant decreases in weekly alcohol use at the 1-month follow-up. While weekly drinking was equivalent in the WDYD plus normative feedback and control groups at 3 months, participants getting WDYD without normative feedback had decreased alcohol use. Males and females responded differently to WDYD. At 1 and 3 months, males receiving WDYD without normative feedback had decreases in weekly drinking and increased moderate drinking behaviors. Conversely, WDYD plus normative feedback was associated with decreased weekly drinking for females at 1 month post-intervention.

    Take Away: The What Do You Drink program is associated with reduced drinking for adolescents. Males and females may respond differently to normative feedback; further research is warranted on these gender differences.

  • Effectiveness of the ‘What Do You Drink’ web-based brief alcohol intervention in reducing heavy drinking among students: A two-arm parallel group randomized controlled trial.

    Voogt CV, Poelen EA, Kleinjan M, Lemmers LA, Engels RC. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 2013. 48(3): 312-321. PMID: 23303466.

    Summary: A second randomized controlled trial of What Do You Drink was conducted with university students. Students were recruited online. Using an online questionnaire, volunteer students were screened for heavy drinking. Participants (n=907) who had engaged in heavy drinking during the past six months were randomly assigned to receive the What Do You Drink (WDYD) intervention, or a no intervention control. Information about alcohol use and potential moderators was collected for six months using online diaries. Results showed that there were no differences in heavy drinking, frequency of alcohol use, and weekly alcohol consumption between the WDYD and control groups. Several moderators impacted participants’ treatment response. Participants with severe alcohol use problems, participants who celebrated the holiday Carnival, and participants in the contemplation stage of change benefitted more from WDYD and had reduced alcohol consumption.

    Take Away: Overall, the What Do You Drink intervention did not reduce alcohol use in university students. Certain groups of students may benefit more from this intervention.