The project, titled “Social Marketing Intervention for adverse child-family relationships, Alcohol-usage and sexual-Health issues attributable to Social-Media-Usage among Adolescents: A Multi-City Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in North-India,” is sanctioned to Dr. Tanvi Kiran, Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGIMER Chandigarh, as the Principal Investigator.

The multidisciplinary research team includes Dr. Arun K. Aggarwal, Professor and Head; Dr. Madhu Gupta, Professor; Dr. Kapil Goel, Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health; and Dr. Aseem Mehra, Additional Professor, Department of Psychiatry, PGIMER, as co-principal investigators of the project.

The study protocol was recently published as an open-access article in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE under the title “Social marketing intervention for social media-related adolescent risk behaviours in North India: A multi-city cluster RCT protocol.” Dr. Tanvi Kiran, Principal Investigator of the project, is the first author, with Divya Sharma, Research Scientist-II, serving as the corresponding author. Published on 7 August 2026, the paper presents the rationale, development and evaluation framework of the intervention.

The study focuses on three key areas associated with social media use among adolescents: child-family relationships, alcohol-related behaviours and sexual health concerns. Rather than focusing only on reducing screen time, the project uses a social marketing approach, applying behavioural communication and marketing principles to encourage healthier behaviours through targeted communication, behavioural strategies and improved digital awareness.

The study is being conducted in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali, covering 12 senior secondary schools, with four schools from each city. Each city includes two government and two private schools to ensure representation across different socioeconomic settings. The study will include adolescents aged 14–17 years studying in Classes 9th to 12th, with a planned sample of 1,260 students, comprising approximately 420 students from each city.

The project has now entered the intervention phase, and the first month of intervention is currently being delivered in participating schools. The three-month intervention consists of one session per month, with each session lasting approximately one to one-and-a-half hours.

The field implementation is led by Divya Sharma, Project Research Scientist II, with Lakshay Jaglan, Technical Support-III; Ashrajdeep Singh, PhD Scholar; and Tammana Kumari, field staff, as members of the research team. The team is working closely with schools and adolescents to deliver the structured sessions and facilitate participation in the behavioural components of the programme.

The research team expects the study to generate practical, evidence-based insights into how social marketing and behavioural interventions can support healthier social media use among adolescents while addressing associated concerns related to family relationships, alcohol use and sexual health.

The ultimate aim is to help adolescents develop healthier relationships with social media, stronger family connections and greater capacity to make informed and responsible choices in an increasingly digital environment.