Remote alcohol administration: A qualitative study of barriers and facilitators to potential participation.

Abstract

Human laboratory alcohol administration studies are crucial for advancing knowledge of cognitive processes and behaviors that precede alcohol consequences in a controlled environment, improving our understanding of etiology of alcohol problems and ability to develop and test safety and efficacy of interventions. However, conducting lab administration studies is challenging in part due to high participant burden, limiting generalizability of results to individuals who do not typically present for lab studies. Given the advantages of lab administration methods coupled with their challenges, remote alcohol administration was pursued as an alternative to enhance generalizability by removing barriers to participation and reducing participant burden. To establish feasibility and acceptability of this new remote method, we conducted qualitative interviews of 27 individuals (51.8% male; M_age = 21.96) and found that an average of 80% of individuals were willing to potentially participate in remote administration. Several themes emerged concerning participants' willingness and ability to participate, including (1) study location, (2) ease of participation, and (3) wanting to participate with a friend. However, some participants also cited specific barriers to participation, such as (1) living situation not conducive to participation, (2) study safety concerns, and (3) not wanting to participate with a romantic partner. Understanding both facilitators and barriers to potential participation will enable researchers to better design remote studies and enroll individuals not commonly included in current lab administration studies which has important implications for improved generalizability of findings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).