Classes of Caregiver-Student Responsiveness to a Self-Directed Handbook Preventive Intervention and Their Associated Impact on First-Year Student Substance Use

The novelty of the college transition places older adolescents and emerging adults at increased risk for engaging in substance misuse. Preventive interventions such as First Years Away from Home, a self-directed handbook intervention, can teach caregivers effective strategies for preparing their student for this transition. Responsiveness (i.e., participants’ engagement and interest in an intervention), is one implementation dimension that can impact participant outcomes and can be improved by selecting appropriate implementation strategies (i.e., methods that aim to improve implementation outcomes; IS). Using a person-centered analytic approach, this study examines classes of responsiveness to First Years Away from Home among caregivers of first-year college students with data from 543 dyads randomly assigned to two intervention conditions (Handbook, Handbook +) who were exposed to two ISs in the randomized controlled trial. Handbook and Handbook + caregivers had access to a Transition Support Specialist (IS #1) the summer prior to students moving to campus, and Handbook + caregivers received booster messages (IS #2) to remind them of the handbook content throughout the students’ first year in college. A multiple group latent class analysis was conducted to identify classes of responsiveness and determine whether the classes differ by Handbook condition. Responsiveness classes were then used to predict any past 30-day student alcohol, cannabis, or simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use during their first semester. We identified four distinct classes of responsiveness among caregiver-student dyads (Non-Responders, Discontinued Average Responders, Average Responders, High Responders). Moreover, class membership varied across Handbook conditions and Average Responders reported any drinking significantly less than Non-Responders in the Handbook + condition. Implications for implementation of self-directed interventions and addressing varying ways participants respond to interventions are discussed. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03227809.