title: Project INTEGRATE: An integrative study of brief alcohol interventions for college students.
abstract: This article provides an overview of a study that synthesizes multiple, independently collected alcohol intervention studies for college students into a single, multisite longitudinal data set. This research embraced innovative analytic strategies (i.e., integrative data analysis or meta-analysis using individual participant-level data), with the overall goal of answering research questions that are difficult to address in individual studies such as moderation analysis, while providing a built-in replication for the reported efficacy of brief motivational interventions for college students. Data were pooled across 24 intervention studies, of which 21 included a comparison or control condition and all included one or more treatment conditions. This yielded a sample of 12,630 participants (42% men; 58% first-year or incoming students). The majority of the sample identified as White (74%), with 12% Asian, 7% Hispanic, 2% Black, and 5% other/mixed ethnic groups. Participants were assessed 2 or more times from baseline up to 12 months, with varying assessment schedules across studies. This article describes how we combined individual participant-level data from multiple studies, and discusses the steps taken to develop commensurate measures across studies via harmonization and newly developed Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms for 2-parameter logistic item response theory models and a generalized partial credit model. This innovative approach has intriguing promises, but significant barriers exist. To lower the barriers, there is a need to increase overlap in measures and timing of follow-up assessments across studies, better define treatment and control groups, and improve transparency and documentation in future single intervention studies.
authors.affiliation: Center of Alcohol Studies.
authors.forename: Eun-Young
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Mun
authors.affiliation: Center of Alcohol Studies.
authors.forename: Jimmy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de la Torre
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Washington.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Atkins
authors.affiliation: Center of Alcohol Studies.
authors.forename: Helene R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Center of Alcohol Studies.
authors.forename: Anne E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ewha Womans University.
authors.forename: Su-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Center of Alcohol Studies.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.affiliation: Center of Alcohol Studies.
authors.forename: Nickeisha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.affiliation: Center of Alcohol Studies.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Washington.
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Larimer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Washington.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014495:Universities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult