Tl. Toomey et al., AN ALCOHOL PRIMARY PREVENTION PROGRAM FOR PARENTS OF 7TH GRADERS - THE AMAZING ALTERNATIVES - HOME PROGRAM, Journal of child & adolescent substance abuse, 5(4), 1996, pp. 35-53
Parents have both direct and indirect influences on many adolescent pr
oblem behaviors including underage drinking. To reach a large number o
f parents, and to encourage parents to adopt behaviors associated with
fewer adolescent problems, parent education programs need to be devel
oped and evaluated. The Amazing Alternatives! Home Program, a componen
t of a community-wide intervention called Project Northland, attempted
to reach and affect parents of seventh graders through booklets sent
via direct mail. The booklets had two parts: the first contained infor
mation to be read by parents, and the second was a discussion activity
to be completed by parents and their seventh graders. The main goals
of the Amazing Alternatives! Home Program were to increase communicati
on between parents and seventh graders concerning alcohol-related issu
es, to improve parenting skills like monitoring and supervision, and,
ultimately, to reduce underage drinking. At least 33% of the 1,028 eli
gible families chose to participate in the program. Participation in t
he Amazing Alternatives! Home Program was associated with increased co
mmunication between seventh graders and their parents concerning alcoh
ol-related topics. Changes in other parenting behaviors and student se
lf-reported alcohol use were not observed following program participat
ion. Parent programs such as the Amazing Alternatives! Home Program ma
y be a necessary, but not sufficient, intervention to achieve reductio
ns in underage drinking.