AN INTERVENTION FOR PREVENTING ALCOHOL-USE AMONG INNER-CITY MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of a brief, school-based inter vention for preventing alcohol use. Design and Setting: Randomized, co ntrol trial assigning inner-city public school students to an interven tion program or a comparison program. Participants: Sixth, seventh, an d eighth grade students in Jacksonville, Fla (N=104). Interventions: S tudents assigned to the intervention program were given a self-instruc tional 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 m onth after the intervention and students' assessments of the intervent ions were measured. Results: Student's t tests showed participants wer e 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-d ay quantity of alcohol use (F=5.15, P=.02), with intervention students reporting less alcohol consumption at follow-up than comparison stude nts, and for 30-day frequency of alcohol use (F=5.92, P=.01), with int ervention students again showing less frequent use at follow-up. Concl usions: A multicomponent, school-based intervention using print and au diotape media, brief physician or nurse consultations, and follow-up p eer contacts holds promise in altering short-term alcohol use and sele cted behavioral factors among inner-city youth.