Evaluation of a brief alcohol prevention program for urban school youth

Objective: To examine the effects of the STARS for Families program, a a-ye ar stage-based intervention using nurse consultations and parent prevention materials. Methods: Subjects consisted of 650 sixth-grade students from on e neighborhood (n=262) and one magnet (bused) urban school (n=388), Results : At posttest, significantly fewer intervention magnet-school students init iated alcohol use, drank heavily during the past 30 days, and drank over an y period of time, compared to minimal intervention control students (p's<.0 5). Conclusion: These results suggest that a brief preventive intervention may be a feasible alternative to more extensive curriculum-based prevention programs for selected school children.