2.4. Participants and recruitment
RECRUITMENT
The study participants were university students recruited from a university in northern Spain between October 1, 2022, and March 14, 2023. The inclusion criteria were as follows: age 18-years or older; first- or second-year student status; and currently engaging in binge drinking.The recruitment strategy involved advertising in university classrooms and student residences and disseminating the study through the university's social networks and the student newsletter. One member of the research team provided information about the project and invited students to participate. It was explained to the participants that it was a health promotion project at the university with the objective of raising their awareness about their pattern of alcohol consumption and its effects on young people. They were blinded to the goal of the study (to reduce alcohol consumption) to prevent them from reporting lower alcohol use at the end of the study. Furthermore, they were not informed of the existence of two groups. Students signed up using a QR code redirected to a Google sheet to provide their name and contact email. Subsequently, they were e-mailed a document containing information about the study and the informed consent form that they had to return signed to participate in the study. Those students who met eligibility criteria were then randomly assigned to either the control or intervention group.