Table 2.
Protective Behavioral Strategies Used in TMs per Condition and Baseline Descriptive Information
| Strategy | Min | Max | Mean | SD | Percent with score of “useful” or “very useful” | Participant N that received the PBS in the participant-selected condition | Participant N that received the PBS in the random-selected condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Message from past self:32 | 3 | 5 | 4.60 | 0.57 | 95.8 | 9 | 7 |
| Part of feeling lousy the day after drinking can be dehydration. Drink water while drinking alcohol both to pace yourself and get a head start on rehydrating. | 3 | 5 | 4.40 | 0.68 | 87.5 | 5 | 3 |
| Make sure you drink with people who will take care of you if you drink too much and are willing to get help if needed. | 1 | 5 | 4.29 | 1.01 | 85.4 | 3 | 5 |
| Going out and leaving with friends you know and trust helps everyone look out for one another. | 1 | 5 | 4.17 | 0.95 | 81.3 | 4 | 5 |
| Front-loading drinks puts you at a higher risk for drinking more than you wanted. Spacing out your drinks helps you pace yourself. | 1 | 5 | 3.83 | 0.99 | 75 | 4 | 7 |
| Other CC students have said: “I started drinking water between my alcohol drinks. This really helps me to avoid a hangover!” | 1 | 5 | 4.06 | 1.04 | 72.9 | 6 | 4 |
| Other CC students have said: “When my friends and I are out drinking, we make sure to watch out for the physical safety of each other.” | 1 | 5 | 4.08 | 1.08 | 72.9 | 5 | 5 |
| Spread your drinks out across the time you’re out. | 1 | 5 | 3.94 | 1.01 | 72.9 | 5 | 4 |
| Before going out, think about a game plan of how you are going to safely get home. | 2 | 5 | 4.21 | 0.93 | 71.1 | 7 | 7 |
| Students tell us that pounding drinks or doing shots results in having their night get away from them. Drinking slowly helps to maintain control longer. | 1 | 5 | 4.06 | 0.97 | 70.8 | 7 | 2 |
| Eating prior to or while drinking will slow absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream, keeping your peak blood alcohol level lower. | 1 | 5 | 4.02 | 1.02 | 68.8 | 10 | 7 |
| Using a designated driver is one way to reduce your risk. Consider other transportation options, including walking home with friends. | 1 | 5 | 3.91 | 1.21 | 68.8 | 6 | 2 |
| Keep it safe by only riding with people who have not been drinking. Also keep it safe by not accepting rides from one star Uber drivers. | 1 | 5 | 4.00 | 1.22 | 68.8 | 7 | 3 |
| Testimonial: “When my friends and I are at a party, bar, or club, we are careful to look out for each other’s drinks and don’t leave our drinks unattended.” | 1 | 5 | 3.88 | 1.24 | 64.6 | 3 | 4 |
| You’ve indicated you want to {RESPONSE:BSHORTGOAL1} and drinking would negatively impact this goal. Consider what strategies you would use before going out to help stay on track to meet your goal. | 1 | 5 | 3.50 | 1.17 | 64.6 | 4 | 2 |
| Before drinking, set a limit on the number of drinks you want to have. | 1 | 5 | 3.56 | 1.23 | 64.6 | 8 | 5 |
| It’s easy to overspend if there’s no real limit. Bring cash (not credit or ATM cards) to limit your expenses when going out to drink. Plus, it keeps mystery packages from arriving later in the week. | 1 | 5 | 3.88 | 1.17 | 64.6 | 10 | 7 |
| Have a plan for alcohol-free alternatives for you and your friends. | 1 | 5 | 3.58 | 1.28 | 62.5 | 8 | 5 |
| Tonight may be one you want to remember - choose drinks other than hard alcohol. | 1 | 5 | 3.54 | 1.14 | 62.5 | 3 | 2 |
| If you’re thinking of cutting down, replace a drink or 2 (or more) with an alcohol-free alternative. | 1 | 5 | 3.56 | 1.33 | 60.4 | 7 | 13 |
| How many drinks does it take to feel a buzz? If the number is higher than it used to be, you can reduce your tolerance by drinking less often or taking a 2 week break. | 1 | 5 | 3.48 | 1.25 | 60.4 | 4 | 3 |
| People who don’t know you may not be looking out for your best interests. Opt out from drinks from strangers. | 1 | 5 | 3.73 | 1.30 | 60.4 | 3 | 4 |
| Testimonial: “Sometimes if I don’t feel like drinking, I try to get connected with enjoyable activities that do not include alcohol consumption.” | 1 | 5 | 3.77 | 1.13 | 60.4 | 15 | 10 |
| Keep your buzz going longer by choosing a drink with a lower alcohol content instead of stronger alcoholic beverages. | 1 | 5 | 3.60 | 1.08 | 60.4 | 1 | 2 |
| When you want to go out but don’t want to drink, volunteer to be the designated driver. | 1 | 5 | 3.58 | 1.47 | 56.3 | 4 | 1 |
| You want to go to the party but don’t want to drink much tonight. Carry around a cup (or whatever everyone else is carrying around) with something other than alcohol in it if it makes you feel more comfortable socially. | 1 | 5 | 3.47 | 1.36 | 50 | 4 | 3 |
| Testimonial: “I purposefully limit the amount of money spent on alcohol. It helps me to limit my drinking by going out with only $20.” | 1 | 5 | 3.35 | 1.49 | 50 | 7 | 6 |
| Other CC students have said: “I am careful to only drink things I have made myself or opened myself.” | 1 | 5 | 3.48 | 1.41 | 50 | 2 | 5 |
| Think about what having a safe night would look like. Consider some things you could do to make that happen. | 1 | 5 | 3.48 | 1.07 | 50 | 5 | 9 |
| Pay attention to the number of standard drinks you have. | 1 | 5 | 3.60 | 1.14 | 50 | 3 | 6 |
| Before drinking, pick a time to stop drinking and stick to it. Your call if you want to loudly exclaim, ‘I’m done!’ then drop the mic and walk away. | 1 | 5 | 3.10 | 1.38 | 47.9 | 3 | 8 |
| You’ve indicated you want to {RESPONSE:BSHORTGOAL1} and reducing your drinking would positively impact this goal. Consider what strategies you would use before going out to help stay on track to meet your goal. | 2 | 5 | 3.82 | 0.99 | 45.8 | 7 | 7 |
| Using alcohol and marijuana at the same time can create a dangerous drug interaction. If you’re trying to stay in control of your night and have started drinking, think about just sticking with alcohol. | 1 | 5 | 3.21 | 1.41 | 45.8 | 0 | 5 |
| Before you go out, talk to a friend about how to keep each other safe. | 1 | 5 | 3.40 | 1.09 | 45.8 | 3 | 6 |
| You’ve indicated you want to {RESPONSE:BSHORTGOAL1} and reducing your drinking would positively impact this goal. Consider what strategies you would use while out to reduce significant risks and help stay on track to meet your goal. | 1 | 5 | 3.53 | 1.02 | 37.5 | 0 | 0 |
| You’ve indicated you want to {RESPONSE:BSHORTGOAL1} and drinking would negatively impact this goal. Consider what strategies you would use while out to reduce significant risks and help stay on track to meet your goal. | 1 | 5 | 3.62 | 1.01 | 29.2 | 0 | 0 |
| If you find more than one phone aimed at you over the course of the night, might be time to slow down. That stuff’s getting shared. | 1 | 5 | 3.58 | 1.45 | 29.2 | 4 | 7 |
Note.
At baseline, PBS text messages were rated from a scale of 1 (not at all useful) to 5 (very useful). Bolded strategies indicate that they were included in the investigator-selected PBS condition. PBS for the condition wherein messages were selected at random and the self-selected condition were from the full list of PBS. CC = community college. BSHORTGOAL1 = participant open-ended response to the prompt: “Please list your 5 most important goals you are thinking about and planning to work toward during your time in college”