An intervention for preventing alcohol use among inner-city middle school students

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.