Overall our findings support previous studies demonstrating that simple and inexpensive online interventions have the potential to reduce risky drinking behaviors and their associated costs on a short-term basis (Carey et al., 2009; Hustad et al., 2010; Kypri et al., 2009; Neighbors et al., 2009). Importantly, we found these prevention programs to be most effective at reducing risky alcohol use among individuals that are most at risk for heavy alcohol use, in this case, as measured by a low level of response to alcohol. Such programs may be even more effective with designs to make them more engaging and interactive (increasing participants’ motivation to adhere to the protocol), and to incorporate new technologies such as utilizing cell phones to provide brief, ongoing interventions (e.g. Mason et al., 2014), which could reduce participant attrition and provide long-term reinforcement of prevention principles. Further efforts are still required to test the efficacy of prevention/intervention programs targeting other genetically-influenced risk factors for heavy drinking and alcohol problems, such as impulsivity, disinhibition, negative mood, and coping-related drinking motivations, and to assess the overall effectiveness of
