title: An intervention to decrease heavy episodic drinking in college students: the effect of executive function training.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop and test a planning-ability, executive function (EF) intervention to reduce heavy episodic drinking (HED).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-five heavy-drinking, first-year college students, recruited from May to October 2012.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were randomly allocated to an experimental or active control group and then completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption and demographic questions. Over 1 week, the experimental group completed 4 progressively harder planning tasks, whereas the control group completed 4 easier, consistent-difficulty planning tasks. Participants then recorded their daily alcohol consumption for 2 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  As hypothesized, both mean and maximum per-occasion alcohol consumption was significantly reduced in the experimental group compared with the control group. There were no significant differences in frequency of HED.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results provide initial support for the use of a planning-ability intervention in decreasing per-occasion alcohol consumption. Future researchers can examine the mechanism of effect, the long-term efficacy, and the specific EFs involved in other aspects of alcohol consumption.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mullan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000517:prevention & control; D001315:Australia; D063425:Binge Drinking / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009862:Online Systems; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: alcohol; binge drinking; executive function; heavy episodic drinking; planning; self-regulation