Table 3 Intervention components targeting the eight identified patterns of drug-use related behaviours
Pattern of drug-use related target behaviours | COM-B mapped elements targeted | Intervention Function served | Coded identified (from BCTTv1) | BCTs selected | Translation of BCTs within MyUSE intervention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cluster 1: Increase awareness about the real vs. anticipated effects drug-use can have on students’ personally desired behaviours | Reflective motivation | Education | 5.1 | Information about health consequences | Provide a personalized animated feedback explaining the possible health-related risks and harms per drug-use type and frequency |
5.3 | Information about social and environmental consequences | Present a gamified quiz showing the possible consequences of drugs in students’ academic and emotional area of living (e.g. legal problems, etc.) | |||
5.6 | Information about emotional consequences | ||||
6.3 | Information about others’ approval | Provide a subjunctive norm correction, in a gamified quiz way | |||
13.4 | Valued self-identity | Include a story-telling exercise requesting from students to produce self-statements of their life they want while in college | |||
Cluster 2: Promote identification of personally relevant activities (which are they?) which lead to positive expected outcomes in students’ desired behaviours (fun & enjoyment) | Education | 1.3 | Goal setting (outcome) | Present an interactive value’s identification and committed action exercise | |
7.2 | Cue signalling reward | Present a reflective- non-judgmental rhetorical question, prompting students to consider how their values match with drug-use behaviours | |||
13.2 | Framing/reframing | Suggest the adoption of alternative to drug-use activities as means to enhance fun and enjoyment | |||
Modelling | 5.6 | Information about emotional consequences | Present a mindful-based exercise (“how fully present am I?”), prompting students to visualize (mental representation) how they would feel after achieving college-related goals | ||
15.1 | Verbal persuasion about capability | Use motivational cards to show how students can pursue value committed actions | |||
16.3 | Vicarious learning | Present a scenario-based story showing a student pursuing his/her goals while enjoying college’s years | |||
Training | 1.4 | Action planning | Prompt students to use their e-calendar to plan implementing SMART defined goals | ||
Cluster 3: Increase perceived competence & optimism that an implementation plan of alternatives to drug-use activities can induce positive expected experiences (fun & enjoyment) | Education | 1.3 | Goal setting (outcome) | Use an animation to educate how commitment to SMART goals can work as alternative to drug-use behaviours and reinforce the deliberate adoption of several, non-drug-use behaviours, asserting that these behaviours can elicit as fun as drugs can, without putting students into risks or harms | |
1.9 | Commitment | ||||
6.3 | Information about others’ approval | ||||
8.2 | Behaviour substitutions | ||||
8.6 | Generalization of a target behaviour | ||||
13.2 | Framing/reframing | ||||
15.1 | Verbal persuasion about capability | ||||
Cluster 4: Increase awareness of the university context as a risk factor that increase the chances for drug-use behaviours and how this can restrict students from having positive college’s experiences | Education | 2.3 | Self-monitoring of behaviour | Explain the role of cues (triggers of use) within an ABC analysis (behavioural analysis), prompting students to identify (self-monitoring) their own antecedent triggers in relation to the context of use | |
4.2 | Information about antecedents | ||||
Modelling | 7.1 | Prompt/cues | Show how self-talk can be used to help students recognize cues that can influence decision making in relation to drug-use | ||
15.4 | Self-talk | ||||
Cluster 5: Cultivate mindful awareness of the perceived reasons for using (why I use?) and increase insight as to whether the use leads to desired outcomes in goal-directed behaviours at a long-run | Education | 1.6 | Discrepancy between current behaviours and goals | Present a personalized feedback showing students’ level of behavioural awareness and goal attainment (i.e. whether their decision to take drugs is influenced by others). Then, prompt students to monitor whether there is a discrepancy between goals and present behaviours | |
2.4 | Self-monitoring of the outcomes of behaviours | ||||
4.1 | Instructions on how to perform a behaviour | Introduce via an animation the mindful decision-making skill (learn to pause step-back, notice and decide) and prompt students to think how this skill resonates with their role identity | |||
8.1 | Behavioural practice/rehearsal | ||||
13.4 | Valued self-identity | ||||
4.2 | Information about antecedents | Prompt students to apply the new skills to identify cues | |||
Modelling | 4.1 | Instructions on how to perform a behaviour | Present via a story-narrative (a party house) how a student applying mindful decision-making skill (pausing- noticing- deciding) in a situation requiring drug-use decision making.@@Reinforce students’ capacity to apply the new skill in different situations | ||
6.1 | Demonstration of the behaviour (modelling) | ||||
8.1 | Behavioural practice/rehearsal | ||||
8.6 | Generalization of a target behaviour | ||||
15.1 | Verbal persuasion about capability | ||||
Training | 6.1 | Demonstration of the behaviour | Present a series of mindful cards demonstrating what mindful decision-making skill does and advice for a gradual implementation of this skill building activity | ||
8.7 | Graded tasks | ||||
Cluster 6: Resolve students’ misleading expectations about the expected outcomes of drug-use in students’ desired behaviours in the long-run | Automatic motivation | Education | 5.2 | Salience of consequences | Provide a general performance score in a drug-use quiz activity. Wrong-answered responses will provide feedback that will target at correcting students’ expectations about the effect of drugs in the long-run. They will also aim at increasing awareness about the potential regrets, students may experience from the use of drugs |
13.2 | Framing/reframing | ||||
Persuasion | 5.5 | Anticipated regret | |||
Cluster 7: Increase procedural knowledge and practice skills on how harm-reduction practices are implemented within the university context | Capability physical | Education | 1.8 | Behavioural contract | Present a series of harm-reduction practices and invite students to select the ones that best fit with their experiences (personalized plan) |
4.1 | Instructions on how to perform a behaviour | Show instructions in detail on how to perform selected harm-reduction practices via a series of illustrative cards | |||
8.6 | Generalization of the target behaviour | Prompts students to generalize the new harm-reduction practices, including awareness of exposure to cues, to multiple different situation | |||
12.3 | Avoidance/ reducing exposure to cues for the behaviour | ||||
Modelling | 1.9 | Commitment | Show an animation illustrating a student to perform one harm reduction practice, highlighting his/her commitment | ||
4.1 | Instruction on how to perform a behaviour | ||||
Training | 4.1 | Instruction on how to perform a behaviour | |||
6.1 | Demonstration of the behaviour | ||||
Cluster 8: Promote behavioural awareness and behavioural regulation regarding drug-use decision making under the influence of peers | Social Opportunity | Education | 1.6 | Discrepancy between current behaviour and goal | Prompt students to reflect on their personalized feedback scores in questionnaires assessing levels of decision making influenced by others |
4.1 | Instruction on how to perform a behaviour | Present instructions on how to promote behavioural awareness in relation to decision making | |||
4.2 | Information about antecedents | Prompt students to think peers’ influences as antecedent (cues) for them to use drugs | |||
5.2 | Salience of consequences | ||||
8.2 | Behavioural substitution | Promote a mindful decision-making, highlighting that influences from peers should be aware | |||
8.7 | Graded tasks | Provide suggestions on building the new behavioural regulation skill (behavioural awareness) | |||
13.2 | Framing/reframing | Prompt students to consider their feedback on subjunctive norm correction (how behaviours are approved by others) in relation to their valued identity | |||
15.2 | Mental rehearsal of successful performance | Advise students to imagine themselves taking a mindful decision, despite the presence of peers’ influence | |||
Modelling | 4.1 | Instruction on how to perform a behaviour | Illustrate an animation (a narrative story) with a student denying using drugs, while recognizing the potential influence of peers | ||
6.1 | Demonstration of the behaviour |