EFFECTS ON ADOLESCENT ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION OF A SCHOOL-BASED STUDENT-CENTERED HEALTH COUNSELING PROGRAM

Alcohol-related injuries are a leading ca use of death in mid and late adolescence. Schools might contribute to the prevention of these inju ries by affecting adolescent drinking. Few school programmes, however, have succeeded. In view of this shortcoming, a previously investigate d school based health counselling programme for mid adolescents was ap plied to work in conjunction with a municipal alcohol policy initiativ e. A pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental study of 118 sixteen year o ld students was carried out. The development of alcohol consumption wa s not found to differ significantly between the experimental and contr ol groups. The students' perceptions of the negative effects of use of alcohol did not increase. The lack of effect of the counselling progr amme might be related to the low significance initially attributed by the students to alcohol as a health issue. A shift of emphasis in the schools, from normative education, to discussions of the immediate thr eats of serious injuries might alter this perception.