Protocol of a randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact of an adapted future possible selves task on drinking identity and hazardous drinking in graduating highschool students

Sep 30, 2026

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Randomized controlled trial protocol assessing an adaptation of the Future Possible Selves Task (FPST) targeting possible hope and feared future selves related to alcohol. The study evaluates whether FPST reduces the typical rise in drinking-identity self-concept and the associated escalation in alcohol misuse during the transition out of U.S. high school. A factorial design tests hoped-for and feared future-self writing plus a writing-dose manipulation, delivered online, with follow-up through 12 months.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Method

Discussion

Trial registration

Keywords

Background

Emerging adulthood and drinking escalation

Identity development during high school graduation

Drinking identity as an intervention mechanism

Lindgren et al. BMC Public Health (2026) 26:94 BMC Public Health [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-25827-x](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-25827-x) STUDY PROTOCOL Open Access Protocol of a randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact of an adapted future possible selves task on drinking identity and hazardous drinking in graduating highschool students Kristen P. Lindgren 1*, Vyoma Shah 1, Frida de Luna2, Nicole A. Hall2, Andrew P. Weinstein2, Dongjie Wu2, Anne M. Fairlie 1, Christine M. Lee 1, Brian H. Calhoun 1 and Clayton Neighbors2 Abstract Background This study is a randomized controlled trial evaluating an adaptation of the Future Possible Selves Task (FPST) . This adaptation focuses on possible hope for and feared future selves related to drinking alcohol. The study will evaluate whether the FPST can reduce the typical increase in self-concept related to drinking (i. e., drinking identity) and accompanying escalation in alcohol misuse that commonly occurs during the transition out of high school in the United States. Its use of a factorial design will also provide a test of the most optimal FPST condition(s) to do so. Method The study will recruit 528 soon-to-graduate or recently-graduated high school students from the states of Texas and Washington. Recruitment will occur in two waves (once per year) at each site. Participants need to report drinking alcohol within the last year and interest in either decreasing or not increasing their drinking. The study has a 2 (write about future hoped-for self vs. not) × 2 (write about a future feared self vs. not) × 2 (dose: write once vs. write once per week for 3 weeks) design for the FPST. Procedures will occur online. Participants’ drinking identities, drinking behaviors, and other cognitive/affective/motivational factors related to drinking will be evaluated. Participants will be followed up to 12 months post-FPST. Discussion Analyses will evaluate the efficacy of the adapted FPST to prevent the typical escalation of drinking identity and alcohol misuse that commonly accompany the transition out of high school. It is expected that the FPST condition, which includes three doses of writing about a possible hoped-for and feared self, will be most effective in preventing escalation. If successful, the FPST has the potential to be a novel, scalable strategy for the prevention and intervention of alcohol misuse. Trial registration [Clinicaltrials.gov](Clinicaltrials.gov) registration \# NCT06191861, registration date: December 8, 2023. *Correspondence: Kristen P. Lindgren [KPL9716@uw.edu](KPL9716@uw.edu) Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creati](http://creati)[vecommons.org/l](vecommons.org/l)icenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Lindgren et al. BMC Public Health (2026) 26:94 Page 2 of 10 Keywords Alcohol misuse, Drinking identity, Self-concept, Future possible self task, Possible selves, Prevention, Intervention, High school, Emerging adults

FAQs

What intervention is evaluated in the trial?

The trial evaluates an adapted Future Possible Selves Task (FPST) that prompts writing about hoped-for and feared future selves related to alcohol.

How is the study design structured?

The protocol uses a factorial design with writing about hoped-for vs. not, feared future selves vs. not, and a dose condition comparing once to once per week for three weeks.

Who participates and what is the follow-up period?

The study recruits 528 soon-to-graduate or recently-graduated high school students in Texas and Washington, and follows participants for up to 12 months after the FPST.

Sep 30, 2026

Upload by jay