This study examines the effects of a brief, pilot alcohol prevention intervention for 211 disadvantaged 6th grade students at posttest and 1-year follow-up.
The intervention was successfully implemented and well received by youth and parent/guardian participants. ANCOVA analyses indicated a significant difference on alcohol use frequency for drinking subjects at 1-month posttest, with less frequent use reported by intervention subjects than subjects receiving the minimal control materials, F(1,22)=5.37,p=.03. There were no differences between intervention and control subjects on alcohol use measures at 1-year follow-up. The article discusses some critical issues to be resolved related to the success of future prevention research and practice: (1) Why do alcohol prevention interventions appear to be less successful than those targeting other drugs? (2) Are youths targeted for prevention programs not developmentally ready for the intervention and therefore unable to benefit fully from them? (3) Is a prevention program tailored to specific imputed risk and protective factors more efficacious than an intervention with generic prevention content? and (4) Are some prevention strategies more effective than others? Tables, references