Effects of a Brief Safe Drinking Intervention on Depressive and Anxiety Symptomatology: Examining Potential Side Effects of Deviance Regulation Theory Interventions

College students are at a heightened risk of experiencing depression and anxiety symptomatology and engaging in maladaptive alcohol use. Understanding how alcohol interventions impact emotional functioning is essential. One such intervention uses Deviance Regulation Theory (DRT), which posits that behavior can be modified using targeted messaging as a function of perceived norms. DRT has been shown to be effective at increasing responsible drinking behaviors and decreasing alcohol-related consequences. However, it is unclear if this intervention influences emotional functioning. The current examines the impact of a DRT intervention on emotional functioning. Participants (n = 147) were recruited from a large Southeastern university. The study included a screening phase, intervention, and six-week follow-up. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a positive message condition about people who drink responsibly, a negative message condition about people who do not drink responsibly, and an active control condition. During the study, all participants reported on depression/anxiety symptoms, alcohol use, responsible drinking, and alcohol-related consequences. Mixed-effects regression was used to analyze the data. Results suggest an overall reduction of depressive and anxiety symptomatology in the intervention conditions but not in the control condition. In the positive condition, there was a decrease in depressive and anxiety symptomatology. The messaging was not moderated by normative beliefs. The negative condition also led to decreases in depression and anxiety symptomatology over time. In addition, perceived norms moderated the negative message in the first week after the intervention, an effect consistent with DRT. Prior research indicates this intervention is efficacious for the reduction of adverse alcohol outcomes; these data show that the intervention may also have positive effects on downstream mental health outcomes.