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Not yet recruitingNCT07802054MEMOUpdated Sep 3, 2026

Messages That Motivate: Communicating Alcohol-Related Breast Cancer Risk to Young Adult Women

An interventional study of Risk Message and Efficacy Message in Communication, Message Perception and Alcohol, sponsored by Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 25 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-03.

Sponsored by Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
900
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 25 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

This is an online cross-sectional experimental survey study examining two cancer communication questions: 1) What features of social media messages communicating the breast cancer risks from alcohol consumption will motivate young adult women to drink less? and 2) Do message features differ in their persuasive effects based on young adult women's alcohol consumption behavior?

Read the detailed description

This is an online cross-sectional experimental study to examine the effects of features of social media messages in young adult women ages 18-25 who drink alcohol based on valid, self-report outcomes. Within the survey, participants will be randomized to view messages in one of nine conditions in a 3x3 factorial design with baseline alcohol consumption as a within-participants factor to test the effects of social media message features (content, persuasive themes) on participant responses. We will also compare the effects of message features for young women who drink within recommended limits (1 drink/day or less on average) and those who exceed recommended drinking limits.

02

Conditions studied

  • Communication
  • Message Perception
  • Alcohol
  • Cancer Prevention
  • Behavior, Risk

Keywords

  • cancer prevention
  • cancer control
  • alcohol
03

In context

Communication

719 studies on the registry are indexed under Communication; 159 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 900 is above the median of 144 across 571 interventional studies indexed under Communication.

Browse Communication studies →

Lead sponsor

Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center is the lead sponsor of 377 studies on the registry; 84 are open to participants now.

Of its 38 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 19 (50%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 25 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Assigned female at birth
  • Age 18-25
  • Report drinking alcohol at least once in the past 30 days
  • Registered in the United States as a member of the Prolific consumer research platform
  • Willing and able to complete procedures in English

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Assigned male at birth
  • Ages \<18 or >25
  • Do not report drinking alcohol at least once in the past 30 days
  • Not registered in the U.S. as a member of the Prolific consumer research platform
  • Not willing or not able to complete procedures
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
900 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Arm 1: Risk Only + Industry Deception

    Behavioral: Risk Message · Behavioral: Industry Deception

  • Experimental
    Arm 2: Risk Only + YAW Susceptibility

    Behavioral: Risk Message · Behavioral: YAW Susceptibility

  • Experimental
    Arm 3: Risk Only + Mechanisms

    Behavioral: Risk Message · Behavioral: Mechanisms

  • Experimental
    Arm 4: Efficacy Only + Industry Deception

    Behavioral: Efficacy Message · Behavioral: Industry Deception

  • Experimental
    Arm 5: Efficacy Only + YAW Susceptibility

    Behavioral: Efficacy Message · Behavioral: YAW Susceptibility

  • Experimental
    Arm 6: Efficacy Only + Mechanisms

    Behavioral: Efficacy Message · Behavioral: Mechanisms

  • Experimental
    Arm 7: Risk and Efficacy + Industry Deception

    Behavioral: Risk Message · Behavioral: Efficacy Message · Behavioral: Industry Deception

  • Experimental
    Arm 8: Risk and Efficacy + YAW Susceptibility

    Behavioral: Risk Message · Behavioral: Efficacy Message · Behavioral: YAW Susceptibility

  • Experimental
    Arm 9: Risk and Efficacy + Mechanisms

    Behavioral: Risk Message · Behavioral: Efficacy Message · Behavioral: Mechanisms

Interventions

  • BehavioralRisk Message

    Risk message content

  • BehavioralEfficacy Message

    Efficacy Message Content

  • BehavioralIndustry Deception

    Messages with information about alcohol industry deception

  • BehavioralYAW Susceptibility

    Message content with information about why young adult women are susceptible to breast cancer risk from alcohol consumption

  • BehavioralMechanisms

    Message content with information about the mechanism by which alcohol contributes to increased breast cancer risk

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Message Perceptions

    We will assess message perceptions using a valid, reliable measure with six questions about whether participants thought the messages were worth remembering, grabbed their attention, and were informative, powerful, convincing, and meaningful. Responses are on a five-point Likert scale from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree). For all message response outcomes, we will sum and average responses to the items to create message-level scores, then compute means across both messages within each condition for a grand mean. Higher values are considered a better outcome.

    Time frame: This assessment is administered immediately after participants view study messages on Day 1

  2. Effect Perceptions

    We will capture message effects perceptions using the abbreviated effects perceptions scale. Items include questions about how much the messages made them feel discouraged to drink alcohol, concerned about drinking alcohol, and made them feel that drinking alcohol is unpleasant on a scale from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree). For all message response outcomes, we will sum and average responses to the items to create message-level scores, then compute means across both messages within each condition for a grand mean. Higher values are considered a better outcome.

    Time frame: This assessment is administered immediately after participants view study messages on Day 1

  3. Emotional Response

    We will capture emotional responses to the messages using a valid, four item scale. Items are "This message made me angry; irritated; aggravated; and annoyed" with responses on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (Not likely at all) to 5 (Extremely likely). For all message response outcomes, we will sum and average responses to the items to create message-level scores, then compute means across both messages within each condition for a grand mean. Higher values are considered a better outcome.

    Time frame: This assessment is administered immediately after participants view study messages on Day 1

  4. Counter-arguing

    We will capture counter-arguing, a measure of whether participants cognitively refute messages, with a valid, three item scale that captures whether participants criticize messages, think of points that go against messages, and are skeptical of the messages. Responses are on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Not at all) to 7 (Very much). For all message response outcomes, we will sum and average responses to the items to create message-level scores, then compute means across both messages within each condition for a grand mean. Lower values are considered a better outcome.

    Time frame: This assessment is administered immediately after participants view study messages on Day 1

  5. Behavioral Intentions

    Intentions to reduce alcohol consumption in the future will also be assessed with a valid, multi-item scale capturing whether participants will avoid drinking alcohol completely, reduce the number of occasions when they drink alcohol, and reduce the amount of alcohol they consume on drinking occasions with a 1 (Definitely Will Not) to 4 (Definitely Will) response scale. For all message response outcomes, we will sum and average responses to the items to create message-level scores, then compute means across both messages within each condition for a grand mean. Higher values are considered a better outcome.

    Time frame: This assessment is administered immediately after participants view study messages on Day 1

07

Study locations

1 site
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — De-identified individual participant data from self-report measures will be deposited in the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). ICPSR will make the research data from this project available to the broader social science research community as public-use data files. These files, in which direct and indirect identifiers have been removed to minimize disclosure risk, may be accessed directly through the ICPSR website.

Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Informed consent form

Time frame: The research data from this project will be supplied to ICPSR at the time of publication of the relevant results or at the end of the project period, whichever is sooner, so that any issues surrounding the usability of the data can be resolved. Delayed dissemination may be possible. The Delayed Dissemination Policy allows for data to be deposited but not disseminated for an agreed-upon period (typically one year).

Access criteria: After agreeing to Terms of Use, users with an ICPSR MyData account and an authorized IP address from a member institution may download the data, and non-members may purchase the files.

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Start is estimated for Oct 2026; primary completion for Jun 2028, 20 months later.

Of 390 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Communication, half reached primary completion within 18 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 36. This study's planned 20 months is above that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 394 studies reached it within 18 months; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 36.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Aug 28, 2026
First posted
Sep 3, 2026
StartEst.
Oct 2026
Primary completionEst.
Jun 30, 2028
CompletionEst.
Jul 2028
Last update
Sep 3, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 3, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07802054
Responsible party
Darren Mays (Professor, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 3, 2026
Start date
Oct 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Jul 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 3, 2026

Study contacts

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
Contact
OSUCCCClinicaltrials@osumc.edu
800-293-5066
Darren Mays, MPH, PhD
principal investigator · The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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