An interventional study of Brief Motivational Intervention and SDT-Informed Letter-Writing Task in Heavy Drinking and Alcohol Drinking, sponsored by Wayne State University. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-09.
Sponsored by Wayne State University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to learn whether adding a brief letter-writing exercise, grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), to a brief motivational intervention (BMI) for alcohol use is feasible and acceptable, and to obtain preliminary estimates of its effects on psychological needs and motivation among adults who drink heavily and sometimes think about or wish they could cut back on their drinking.
The main questions it aims to answer are: (1) Is it feasible to integrate the letter-writing task into an SDT-informed BMI (recruitment, session completion, letter completion, retention)? (2) Do participants rate the letter-writing task as acceptable, appropriate, and feasible? (3) Compared with a neutral writing task, is the letter-writing task associated with higher perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness, perceived competence for reducing drinking, and autonomous motivation?
Researchers will compare a BMI plus a neutral writing task with the same BMI plus the letter-writing task. Participants will complete a brief online screening survey; take part in a single 45-60-minute Zoom session that includes questionnaires, a 25-30-minute motivational interview, random assignment to either write an advice letter to another participant who has also thought about reducing their drinking or copy a neutral paragraph, and post-session questionnaires; and complete a 10-15-minute online follow-up survey about motivation, perceived competence, and alcohol use approximately one month later.
701 studies on the registry are indexed under Alcohol Drinking; 133 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 86 is below the median of 122 across 607 interventional studies indexed under Alcohol Drinking.
Browse Alcohol Drinking studies →Wayne State University is the lead sponsor of 230 studies on the registry; 35 are open to participants now.
Of its 17 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 4 (24%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Behavioral: Brief Motivational Intervention · Behavioral: SDT-Informed Letter-Writing Task
Behavioral: Brief Motivational Intervention · Behavioral: Neutral Writing Task
Participants will receive a brief, one-on-one, motivational intervention delivered via Zoom by a doctoral student in clinical psychology.
Immediately after the brief motivational intervention, participants write a brief advice letter to another study participant who has also thought about reducing their drinking but sometimes struggles with motivation. Prompts target autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
Immediately after the brief motivational intervention, participants copy a technical paragraph on office supply inventory management that matches the letter-writing task in length and duration.
Recruitment Feasibility: Enrollment Rate Among Eligible Individuals Who Accept an Invitation
Percentage of eligible people who accept an invitation and then enroll (attend the Zoom session, consent, and begin the baseline survey).
Time frame: From accepting the invitation to the Zoom session (up to 21 days)
Session Completion Rate
Percentage of enrolled participants who complete all parts of the Zoom session.
Time frame: Day 1
Letter Completion Rate
Percentage of participants assigned to letter writing who complete a letter during the session.
Time frame: Day 1
Acceptability of the Letter-Writing Task (Acceptability of Intervention Measure)
Mean of 4 Acceptability of Intervention Measure items, rated 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree); higher scores mean greater acceptability. Letter-writing participants only.
Time frame: Day 1
Appropriateness of the Letter-Writing Task (Intervention Appropriateness Measure)
Mean of 4 Intervention Appropriateness Measure items, rated 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree); higher scores mean greater appropriateness. Letter-writing participants only.
Time frame: Day 1
Feasibility of the Letter-Writing Task (Feasibility of Intervention Measure)
Mean of 4 Feasibility of Intervention Measure items, rated 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree); higher scores mean greater feasibility. Letter-writing participants only.
Time frame: Day 1
Retention at One-Month Follow-Up
Proportion of randomized participants who complete the one-month follow-up survey within the 14-day response window (days 30-44 after the session), overall and by arm.
Time frame: Days 30 to 44 after the Zoom session
State Autonomy for Drinking Decisions
Single item rated 1 (not at all) to 7 (completely); higher scores mean greater autonomy.
Time frame: Start of the Zoom session (baseline), immediately post-intervention (Day 1), and 1 month after the Zoom session
State Competence for Reducing Drinking
Single item rated 1 (not capable at all) to 7 (extremely capable); higher scores mean greater competence.
Time frame: Start of the Zoom session (baseline), immediately post-intervention (Day 1), and 1 month after the Zoom session
State Relatedness
Single item rated 1 (not at all connected) to 7 (extremely connected); higher scores mean greater relatedness.
Time frame: Start of the Zoom session (baseline), immediately post-intervention (Day 1), and 1 month after the Zoom session
Perceived Competence for Reducing Alcohol Use (Perceived Competence Scale)
Mean of 4 items rated 1 (not at all true) to 7 (very true); higher scores mean greater perceived competence.
Time frame: Start of the Zoom session (baseline), immediately post-intervention (Day 1), and 1 month after the Zoom session
Autonomous Motivation to Reduce Alcohol Use (Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire)
Autonomous motivation score (mean of items rated 1 to 7); higher scores mean more autonomous motivation.
Time frame: Start of the Zoom session (baseline) and 1 month after the Zoom session
Heavy Drinking Days (Timeline Followback)
Number of days in the past 30 with 5 or more (men) or 4 or more (women) standard drinks, measured with the Timeline Followback.
Time frame: Start of the Zoom session (baseline) and 1 month after the Zoom session
Start is estimated for Nov 2026; primary completion for Mar 2027, 4 months later.
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 planned 4 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 not yet recruiting, as verified in Nov 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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