Objective
To examine the effectiveness of a brief, school-based intervention for preventing alcohol use.
Design and Setting
Randomized, control trial assigning inner-city public school students to an intervention program or a comparison program.
Participants
Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in Jacksonville, Fla (N=104).
Interventions
Students assigned to the intervention program were given a self-instructional module and corresponding audiotape, a health consultation with a physician or nurse, and a follow-up consultation with a trained peer health model.
Main Outcome Measures
Alcohol consumption during the month after the intervention and students' assessments of the interventions were measured.
Results
Student's t tests showed participants were more satisfied with physician or nurse consultations than with peer consultations or the self-instructional module and audiotapes (P=.05). Analysis of covariance tests showed significant main effects for 30-day quantity of alcohol use (F=5.15, P=.02), with intervention students reporting less alcohol consumption at follow-up than comparison students, and for 30-day frequency of alcohol use (F=5.92, P=.01), with intervention students again showing less frequent use at follow-up.
Conclusions
A multicomponent, school-based intervention using print and audiotape media, brief physician or nurse consultations, and follow-up peer contacts holds promise in altering short-term alcohol use and selected behavioral factors among inner-city youth.
