Drinking in Young Adult Duos (DYAD) Study

This study, called the DYAD Study, is looking at how alcohol use affects romantic relationships in young adults. You and your partner would come to a research session where you'd drink either a moderate dose of alcohol or a non-alcohol beverage. Researchers will observe your social behaviors and ask about your emotions and social behaviors right after. They are looking for changes in these areas to understand how alcohol impacts relationships. You'll also answer surveys about your drinking habits and relationship factors on your smartphone, with follow-up surveys at 6 and 12 months. This study is currently unclear on its recruitment status and plans to enroll 504 participants. You and your partner must be 21-30 years old, regularly drink alcohol, and own a smartphone to participate.

Study design
This is an interventional study with 504 planned participants. Couples will be given either a moderate dose of alcohol or a non-alcoholic beverage.
What's involved
You and your partner would participate in a lab session where you consume a beverage and complete tasks. You will also complete surveys on your smartphone after the session and at 6-month and 12-month follow-up sessions.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Participants will be followed for 12 months after the lab session with follow-up assessments at 6 and 12 months.

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NCT06822257

Drinking in Young Adult Duos (DYAD) Study

Recruiting
NAAges 21–30Interventional
Carnegie Mellon University
~504 participants
Updated 2025-05-28 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Alcohol beverageNon-alcohol beverage

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Social behaviors-observational
Measured over During couple interactions in the lab for a total duration of 55 minutes.
+4 more outcomes measured
Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol Drinking
Alcohol Intoxication
1 sites across 1 states
Pennsylvania1

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

be between the ages of 21 and 30
regularly consume alcohol
own a smartphone

Exclusion

has a history of adverse reaction to the amount of beverage used in the study
has a history of major problems related to alcohol
is taking medications that could adversely interact with alcohol
is pregnant
  • Social behaviors-observationalDuring couple interactions in the lab for a total duration of 55 minutes.

    Behavioral measures of social processes using validated and reliable behavioral coding schemes to code facial expressions, speech behaviors, and speech content: the Facial Action Coding System (Ekman, Friesen, \& Hagar, 2002) and the Rapid Marital Interaction Coding System (Heyman, 2004). This coding uses binary (yes/no) codes for presence/absence of behaviors at each moment in time. Higher scores represent more instances of behaviors.

  • EmotionsImmediately after the couple interactions in the lab referenced above.

    The 8-item Mood Measure (Fairbairn et al., 2021) will assess self-reported positive and negative emotions on scales from 0 (none) to 10 (extremely). Higher scores indicate a greater intensity of emotions.

  • Social behaviors-self-reportImmediately after the couple interactions in the lab referenced above.

    Participants will provide ratings of their own and their partners' social behaviors on ten-point Likert scales. Higher scores indicate a greater endorsement of each behavior.

  • Real-world experiencesThe EMA protocol will be completed for 14 days post-lab session.

    Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) methods will be used to send a series of brief surveys to participants' smartphones to assess alcohol consumption (in standard alcoholic drinks).

  • Longer term alcohol problemsAssessed longitudinally up to 12-months post-lab session.

    Follow-up sessions will assess alcohol problems using DSM-5 alcohol use disorder criteria. Higher scores reflect more alcohol problems.