An interventional study of Purple Town prevention program and Purple town mobile game in Alcohol Use, Cannabis Use and Health Literacy, sponsored by Paris Nanterre University. Completed at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 25 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-05.
Sponsored by Paris Nanterre University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
Purple Town is a media literacy-based prevention and harm reduction program that uses a mobile game, with or without accompanying facilitated workshops, to raise young people's awareness of the risks associated with alcohol and cannabis use. The program aims to develop critical thinking about marketing messages and encourage the adoption of protective behavioral strategies. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the program through a cluster randomized controlled trial (CRCT) among youth.
701 studies on the registry are indexed under Alcohol Drinking; 133 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 352 is above the median of 122 across 607 interventional studies indexed under Alcohol Drinking.
Browse Alcohol Drinking studies →Paris Nanterre University is the lead sponsor of 3 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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.
Exclusion Criteria:
- None
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants assigned to the game-only group received a brief introduction to the game and completed one supervised trial session (i.e., one full play-through of the game) with a facilitator. They were then instructed to independently complete up to 15 sessions on their smartphone over the following 15-day period, at a frequency of their choosing.
Other: Purple town mobile game
Participants in the game + workshops group followed the same protocol as the game-only group. In addition, they attended two 2-hour group sessions led by prevention professionals who were specifically trained to deliver the program.
Behavioral: Purple Town prevention program
Participants in the control group completed only the baseline and posttest assessments, at 15-day interval.
Purple Town is a media literacy-based prevention and harm reduction program that uses the Purple Town mobile game, with accompanying facilitated workshops, to raise young people's awareness of the risks associated with alcohol and cannabis use.
Purple Town is a real-time simulation and strategy game in which players can play as each of three different factions competing to change the fate of a city: 1) the alcohol industry (Tease Company), 2) cannabis dealers (Weedeal), and 3) prevention professionals (League Action) (Fig. 1). The city is divided into five distinct neighborhoods, each characterized by a unique demographic profile (e.g., the business district, where the majority of residents are in their 40s, or the university district, which is predominantly populated by young adults).
Skepticism Toward Marketing Scale score
Assessed using the Skepticism Toward Marketing Scale. Measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("Strongly disagree") to 5 ("Strongly agree"). Total scores range from a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 50 for alcohol marketing, and from 10 to 35 for cannabis marketing. Higher scores indicate greater critical skepticism toward marketing (a better outcome).
Time frame: Baseline (T1) and 2-week follow-up (T2)
Substance Knowledge Questionnaire score
Assessed using the Knowledge About Substance Use Questionnaire (True/False/Don't know items). Correct answers receive 1 point and incorrect/don't know answers receive 0 points. Total scores range from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 10 for alcohol knowledge, and from 0 to 13 for cannabis knowledge. Higher scores indicate greater factual knowledge (a better outcome).
Time frame: Baseline (T1) and 2-week follow-up immediately post-intervention (T2)
Awareness of Marketing Influence Strategies Questionnaire score
Assessed using the Awareness of Marketing Influence Strategies Questionnaire. Measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("Never") to 5 ("Always"). Total scores range from a minimum of 9 to a maximum of 45 for alcohol, and from 5 to 25 for cannabis. Higher scores indicate greater awareness of marketing strategies (a better outcome).
Time frame: Baseline (T1) and 2-week follow-up immediately post-intervention (T2)
Protective Behavioral Intentions Questionnaire score
Assessed using the Protective Behavioral Intentions Questionnaire. Measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("Not at all likely") to 5 ("Very likely"). Total scores range from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 25 for alcohol, and from 5 to 25 for cannabis. Higher scores indicate a stronger intention to adopt risk reduction strategies (a better outcome).
Time frame: Baseline (T1) and 2-week follow-up immediately post-intervention (T2)
Alcohol and Cannabis Lifetime Use Questionnaire Status
Assessed using self-administered questions evaluating lifetime experimentation with alcohol and cannabis (binary outcome: Yes/No)
Time frame: Baseline (T1) and 2-week follow-up immediately post-intervention (T2)
In-game Application Telemetry Logs
Objective usage data recorded directly by the Purple Town mobile game server, collected as the total number of completed game sessions per participant.
Time frame: Over the 15-day intervention period
Attitudes Toward Substance Use Semantic Differential Scale score
Assessed using the Attitudes Toward Substance Use Osgood Semantic Differential Scale (9 bipolar adjective pairs). Each item is rated on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 to 7. Total scores range from a minimum of 7 to a maximum of 63. Higher scores indicate more positive attitudes toward substance use (a worse/more favorable toward risky behavior outcome).
Time frame: Baseline (T1) and 2-week follow-up immediately post-intervention (T2)
Substance Use Intentions Questionnaire score
Assessed using the Substance Use Intentions Questionnaire. Measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("Not at all likely") to 5 ("Very likely"). Scores range from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 5 per item. Higher scores indicate higher intention to consume substances (a worse outcome).
Time frame: Baseline (T1) and 2-week follow-up immediately post-intervention (T2)
Plan to share: No
Ran from Jan 2022 to primary completion in Jul 2023, 18 months.
Of 328 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Alcohol Drinking, half reached primary completion within 24 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 11 and three quarters within 45. This study's 18 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 336 studies reached it within 24 months; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 45.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Paris Nanterre University